New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a plea challenging the Rs 8 lakh income ceiling for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) candidates. The plea questioned how the cap could be reconciled with private medical college fees running as high as Rs 25 lakh a year.
The matter came up for hearing before a bench comprising Justices BV Nagarathna and Justice Joymalya Bagchi. The plea filed by an EWS candidate submitted that tuition fees in private medical colleges in Rajasthan range between Rs 18.9 lakh and Rs 25 lakh per year.
The petitioner argued that this effectively renders the EWS quota ineffective in practice, as candidates within the Rs 8 lakh income bracket cannot realistically afford such an education. Today, the apex court decided to uphold an order passed by the Rajasthan High Court, which found the fee structure fixed by the State Fee Regulatory Committee to be legally valid.
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During the hearing, the bench observed that private colleges cannot be expected to offer its courses at subsidised fees like government colleges. “You cannot say private educational institutions shall charge the same as government institution. That cannot be”, observed the bench.
The bench made it clear that a person cannot argue that a private college's fee is exorbitant and must therefore be aligned with government college fees. “These are self-financing institutes. For government ones...they get grant (subsidies) from the State. There is a vital difference,” observed the bench.
The bench also cautioned against undermining the role of private institutions in medical education. “Assistance of private medical colleges to the state in the field of medical education will stop then...We need doctors,” said Justice Nagarathna. On the issue of affordability regarding private college fee structures, she orally observed, “If you are unable to pay...get scholarship....”.
After hearing submissions, the bench said it was not inclined to interfere with the high court order. “Dismissed. Question of law, if any, is kept open," said the bench.The high court had said that the fee structure had been fixed by the State Fee Regulatory Committee in accordance with the Supreme Court’s ruling in Islamic Academy of Education vs State of Karnataka. It had held that EWS reservation applies only at the stage of admission and does not create any entitlement to subsidised or differential fees in private colleges.
