Gujarat High Court
Charmi Kanchanbhai Patel vs Union Of India on 2 September, 2025
Author: Nikhil S. Kariel
Bench: Nikhil S. Kariel
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/SCA/4165/2024 ORDER DATED: 02/09/2025
undefined
IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 4165 of 2024
==========================================================
CHARMI KANCHANBHAI PATEL
Versus
UNION OF INDIA & ORS.
==========================================================
Appearance:
MR SAMIR B GOHIL(5718) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1
GOVERNMENT PLEADER for the Respondent(s) No. 2
SERVED BY RPAD (N) for the Respondent(s) No. 1,3,4
==========================================================
CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE NIKHIL S. KARIEL
Date : 02/09/2025
ORAL ORDER
1. Heard learned advocate Mr.Samir Gohil appearing on behalf of the petitioner and learned Assistant Government Pleader Mr.Aditya Pathak appearing on behalf of the respondent - State.
2. By way of this petition, the petitioner seeks indulgence of this Court inasmuch as the scholarship which the petitioner would be entitled to more particularly as per the policy of the Central Government i.e. vide scheme of the post-matrix scholarship to the students belonging to the scheduled caste, having not been given to the present petitioner.
3. Briefly stated, the case of the present petitioner is that she belonged to scheduled caste category, had completed her Page 1 of 6 Uploaded by BHOOMI YOGESHKUMAR MISTRY(HC01557) on Wed Sep 03 2025 Downloaded on : Thu Sep 04 00:39:06 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/4165/2024 ORDER DATED: 02/09/2025 undefined post matriculation in the State of Gujarat and had got admission in the M.B.B.S. course in one M/s. Specific Institute of Medical Science, Udaipur in government quota in academic year 2021-22 onwards.
3.1. It is the case of the petitioner that while the fees paid to the petitioner for the State quota is approximately Rs.21,00,000/-, the same has not been reimbursed by the State.
4. Learned advocate Mr.Gohil would draw the attention of this Court to a judgment passed by this Court dated 19.08.2025 in Special Civil Application No.11134/2025, in a similar situation albeit in case of a candidate who belonged to the scheduled tribe category. Learned advocate would submit that in case of the said candidate, the Tribal Development Department, relying upon a fee structure approved by the State of Rajasthan by the Fee Recommendation Committee for the year 2016-17, had paid to the petitioner therein an amount of Rs.2.95 lakhs per year.
4.1. Learned advocate would further submit that vide the said judgment, this Court had also reserved liberty in favour Page 2 of 6 Uploaded by BHOOMI YOGESHKUMAR MISTRY(HC01557) on Wed Sep 03 2025 Downloaded on : Thu Sep 04 00:39:06 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/4165/2024 ORDER DATED: 02/09/2025 undefined of the petitioner to file an appropriate application for revision of the amount granted more particularly having regard to the fact that there may be an upward revision in the fee structure for the M.B.B.S. course from the year 2016-17 to date. 4.2. Learned advocate would submit that if this Court may direct the State Authorities to pay to the petitioner the amount of Rs.2.95 lakhs for the years which she has completed and for the years which she will further undertake to prosecute the course in question with a liberty in favour of the petitioner to apply for revision in case appropriate documents i.e. the recommendation of the FRC for the relevant years are received, the grievance of the petitioner could be assuaged.
5. Learned AGP Mr.Pathak, under instructions, would submit that as per the report of the Fee Regulatory Committee for the year 2016-17 more particularly since the Tribal Development Department has taken a stand with regard to paying the fees fixed by the Committee for the year 2016-17 as a base fee, therefore, appropriate orders may be passed by this Court.
Page 3 of 6 Uploaded by BHOOMI YOGESHKUMAR MISTRY(HC01557) on Wed Sep 03 2025 Downloaded on : Thu Sep 04 00:39:06 IST 2025
NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/4165/2024 ORDER DATED: 02/09/2025 undefined
6. Considering the submissions made by learned advocates for the respective parties and having perused the order dated 19.08.2025, it would appear to this Court that in case of a similarly situated candidate more particularly for the very selfsame scholarship scheme, except the petitioner herein belonging to the scheduled caste category and the petitioner before this Court in Special Civil Application No.11134/2025 belonging to scheduled tribe category, all other conditions appear to be similar. Having regard to said position and further considering that in case of the petitioner of the former petition, the Tribal Development Department of the State had granted an amount of Rs.2.95 lakhs per year basis the fees structure approved by the Fee Regulatory Committee of the State of Rajasthan for the year 2016-17, to this Court, it would appear that the said amount is required to be directed to be paid to the petitioner.
6.1. Furthermore, it would also appear that this Court had reserved liberty in case of the petitioner therein to file an appropriate application in case the petitioner is able to receive appropriate documents in this regard subject to the condition that the Central Government shall pay the amount Page 4 of 6 Uploaded by BHOOMI YOGESHKUMAR MISTRY(HC01557) on Wed Sep 03 2025 Downloaded on : Thu Sep 04 00:39:06 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/4165/2024 ORDER DATED: 02/09/2025 undefined upto Rs.6 lakhs and whereas, the remaining amount would be paid by the State Government.
7. Hence, the following directions:-
(i) The petitioner shall make an appropriate application to the authority concerned for grant of scholarship as per the fee structure fixed by the Fee Regulatory Committee for the State of Rajasthan for M.B.B.S. course for the year 2016-17 within a period of 10 days from the date of receipt of this order, which shall be considered by the authorities within a period of four weeks thereafter. The authority, at the first instance, shall consider the case of the petitioner and if found eligible, shall pay to the petitioner the amount as per the fee structure approved for the year 2016-17, for the years 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24 and so on, i.e. the years of study put in by the petitioner and the later years which the petitioner would put in.
(ii) The petitioner is at liberty to once again approach the respondent authorities, in case the petitioner is able to gather details as regards the fee fixed by the Fee Regulatory Committee for the Institution in which the petitioner is studying, for the year 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24. Page 5 of 6 Uploaded by BHOOMI YOGESHKUMAR MISTRY(HC01557) on Wed Sep 03 2025 Downloaded on : Thu Sep 04 00:39:06 IST 2025
NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/4165/2024 ORDER DATED: 02/09/2025 undefined
(iii) In case the fee fixed by the FRC is beyond the amount of Rs.2.95 lakhs, then as per the scheme, read with the Government Resolution 05.08.2023, the State shall pay to the petitioner the amount upto Rs.6 lakhs, from the grant received from the Central Government in this regard and whereas the remaining amount would be borne by the State Government itself.
(iv) It would be open for the petitioner to seek for fees, for the remaining years, as fixed by the FRC and whereas if no such details are available, then the benchmark fee of Rs. 2.95 lakhs or any later benchmark fee, as fixed by the FRC of the State of Rajasthan, would be paid by the State Government to the petitioner, subject to the observations hereinabove as regards the petitioner being entitled to claim for revision with appropriate details of the fee fixed by the FRC for the said years.
8. With the above observations and directions, the present petition stands disposed of as partly allowed.
(NIKHIL S. KARIEL,J) Bhoomi Page 6 of 6 Uploaded by BHOOMI YOGESHKUMAR MISTRY(HC01557) on Wed Sep 03 2025 Downloaded on : Thu Sep 04 00:39:06 IST 2025