Rs 75 lakh per year fee; HC dismisses challenge by mgmt quota seat student

S Shyam Prasad | NT

Bengaluru: The High Court of Karnataka has dismissed a petition by a student challenging the Rs.75 lakh per year fee charged by the Ramaiah Medical College for an Orthopedics postgraduation seat under the management quota.

The student had claimed that all the seats available for counseling were not offered. All the seats for PG in Orthopedics were not updated and only reflected two seats under Government quota and two seats under private quota.

Since all the seats were not offered, he had to apply under the private category. The fee was fixed at Rs.75 lakh per year for the course starting in the academic year 2017- 18 which was arbitrary.

It also allegedly contained the element of capitation fee which is prohibited under the Karnataka Educational Institutions (Prohibition of Capitation Fees) Act.

Sridhar Prabhu, the advocate for the student also argued that the “ fees of Rs.4,40,000/- and Rs.6,60,000/- for the same course under Government quota, would speak for itself that Rs.75 lakhs per year is unreasonable, unjust and arbitrary and includes the capitation fee which is prohibited under law.”

The division bench of Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Anant Ramanath Hegde heard the petition filed in 2017 and gave their judgement recently.

The bench noted that the student had voluntarily opted to apply for the postgraduation in Orthopedics in respondent No.5 college under the management quota which attracted the yearly course fee of Rs.75 lakhs.

There is nothing on record to suggest that the petitioner protested for the said fees prescribed, at the time of admission.

Thus, his own conduct of opting for the course to secure admission under the management quota disentitles him to contend otherwise, insofar as fee structure is concerned.”

The student also failed to prove that he would have secured the seat under merit quota if they were offered to him in counseling.

Also in the academic year 2017-18 there was an exemption to the members of the Karnataka Professional Colleges Foundation to charge fees that was 10% over the fee fixed for the year 2016-17. The student had failed to show that the fee fixed by the college was more than this.

“The petitioner opted for the seat under the management quota and agreed to pay yearly course fee of Rs.75 lakhs, thus, he now cannot raise a grievance that the fee fixed is arbitrary,” the HC said.

The HC also said that it is not evident that the fee charged by the college included capitation

fee. “It is also to be noticed that there is nothing on record to show that Rs.75 lakhs per year fixed by respondent No.5 also comprises the capitation fee in addition to the prescribed tuition fees and other fees. It is noticed from the records produced by the petitioner that the different colleges are charging different course fees for different subjects and there is no uniformity in fee structure under the management quota,” it said.

Though the student had filed the petition in the HC in 2017 he impleaded the college as a party only in 2021.

“The petitioner has nor explained the delay of four and a half years in impleading respondent No.5,” the HC said while dismissing his petition as being devoid of merits. (WP 22419/2017)