Recently a petition filed by three students before Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court revealed that in spite of a categorical promise to reimburse tuition fees paid by open category students, who had to forgo their medical seats in Government colleges after Maratha reservation was implemented, in last 12 months, not a single penny had been released by the State Government.
As a result, these 106 students were forced to pay entire fees to private colleges and even during current academic years would be required to shell out hefty fees. A division bench consisting of Justice Manish Pitale and Justice Anil Kilor, while issuing notice to State Government and private medical college, directed the respondent-institution not to force these open category students to pay fees and restrained them from taking any coercive steps.
The petitioner students — Tanisha Verma, Sanket Deshmukh and Anagha Deshmukh — knocked the doors of the High Court against this complete breach of promise by Maharashtra Government in releasing their tuition fees.
After Maratha reservation was implemented, as many as 106 open category students had to give up their admissions in various Government Medical Colleges (GMCs). As a one-time measure, the State Government in a GR dated September 28, 2019 promised to pay the fee difference of these affected students admitted in private medical colleges in the academic year 2019-20. As per the provisions of the GR, the students were required to deposit fees as were to be charged by the Government Medical Colleges and the balance amount was to be paid by the State to the medical colleges concerned. The petitioner students claimed that they had paid full fees of Rs 8 lakh to the respondent-private college, but not a single penny had been reimbursed. The scheme had specifically cited GMC fees and the one charged by private college allotted to each of 106 students with balance calculated for all the four years was around Rs 32 crore.The State is now dragging its feet to reimburse fees of these open category students whose confirmed admissions in GMCs were cancelled. The petitioner claimed that the respondent college was further demanding fees towards the second year of the course, and sought stay to the action.
