The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court on Wednesday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the Maharashtra government’s decision to impose financial limitations on the Rajshri Shahu Maharaj Foreign Education Scholarship Scheme. This scheme funds the overseas higher education expenses of students from the Scheduled Castes (SC), which were previously fully covered by the state’s Department of Social Justice.
Rajiv Khobragade, a member of ‘The Platform’ organization, filed a PIL noting that this year the government has introduced several restrictive conditions for the Rajshri Shahu Maharaj Foreign Education Scholarship Scheme. One condition specifies that students whose parents have an annual income exceeding 8 lakh rupees will no longer qualify for the scholarship. Previously, this income criterion did not apply to students admitted to the top 100 universities.
Under the new guidelines, students must now achieve a minimum of 75% marks in their undergraduate degree to qualify, up from the previous requirement of 55%. Furthermore, eligibility is limited to one student per household, and applicants must secure two guarantors. The petitioner highlighted that these changes are likely to impose a substantial financial burden on students, potentially ranging from 30 to 40 lakh rupees, which could discourage economically disadvantaged individuals from pursuing higher education abroad.