CHENNAI: The First Bench of the Madras High Court has directed the Deemed to be universities in the Union Territory of Puducherry to admit candidates provisionally selected for admission in postgraduate medical courses and undergone counselling, but did not join as they could not raise the fee of Rs 40 lakh to Rs 50 lakh, after receiving Rs 10 lakh as fees.
The admission will be subject to the condition that in the event of the fees to be determined by the Fee Committee by the University Grants Commission and Union Human Resources Development Ministry is higher than what they paid, they should pay the differential amount.
Similarly, the students who had already got themselves admitted by depositing the full fee are entitled for refund or adjustment of the excess fee paid.
Such admission should be effected within 5 pm on June 19 and the students should be allowed to attend their classes from the very next day, i.e. June 20, a bench of Chief Justice of Madras High Court Indira Banerjee and Justice M Sundar said on Friday.
The bench was passing interim orders on a public interest litigation from V B R Menon, an advocate, praying for a direction to the Union HRD Ministry and UGC to constitute the fee fixation committee at the earliest.
“Considering that the future of the students, who are admitted pursuant to this interim order, remains uncertain, there is an immense urgency and we expect that the UGC and the HRD Ministry shall forthwith constitute the committee to regulate the fees chargeable by the self-financed deemed to be universities, after giving all stake-holders adequate opportunity of representation,” the bench said.
Earlier, the bench observed that by reason of the exorbitant fees notified by the Deemed to be Universities, there are still seats vacant. The bench also noted that the self-financed private medical colleges charged a fee of Rs 5.50 lakh per annum from the students of the State quota and Rs 14 lakh under the management quota. “We find it difficult to accept that the fee of Rs 40 to Rs 50 lakh per annum is reasonable,” it said.