NHL MUNICIPAL MEDICAL COLLEGE Vs. MODI NILAY BHADRESHBHAI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE two Intra-Court Letters Patent Appeals have been filed challenging the judgment dated 15.5.2008 passed by the learned Single Judge in Special Civil Application No.5410 of 2008 which has been decided by the learned Single Judge by placing reliance on the judgment dated 19-24.03.2008 rendered in Special Civil Application No.25954 of 2007 connected with other writ petitions. The other connected writ petitions being Special Civil Application Nos.13327, 13329, 13364 and 13347 of 2008 raise the same ground of challenge as was challenged in Special Civil Application No.5410 of 2008. Therefore, they have been connected with this Letters Patent Appeal for final decision as the ground of challenge is the same. Letters Patent Appeal No.630 of 2008 would be the leading case and another connected writ petitions would be governed by the judgment in the present appeal.

(2.) IN the appeal, it has been challenged that in the Special Civil Application No.25954 of 2007, the respondents had not challenged the fee structure and the only challenge was to notices dated 10.1.2008 and 17.3.2008 issued by the appellants demanding the differential amount as per the revised fee structure fixed by the Fee Regulatory Committee. Before the learned Single Judge, it was also urged by the respondents that the fee structure fixed by the Fee Regulatory Committee would not be applicable to the students-respondents for two academic years i.e. 2006-07 and 2007-08 as the appellant No.1 Medical College had accepted the initial fee of Rs.1,40,000/- per student per annum on the basis of old fee structure.

(3.) MR. Harshadray A. Dave, learned counsel appearing for the respondents - students has urged that the Medical College was not entitled to charge the fee structure fixed by the Fee Regulatory Committee for the academic year 2006-07 and 2007-08 from the students as they were earlier required to pay only Rs.1,40,000/- per student per annum on the basis of old fee structure. The appellants are estopped from demanding any enhanced fee in pursuance of the fee structure fixed by the Fee Regulatory Committee. It is urged that the respondents cannot be held liable to pay the differential amount of fee fixed by the Fee Regulatory Committee irrespective of the year in which the students were admitted in the Medical College. New fee structure could not be imposed on every student who is on the roll of Medical College per student per annum. He urged that the new fee structure would be applicable only to those students who have been enrolled for the first time as student of Medical College from the academic year 2006-07 and onwards. He placed reliance on the decisions of the of the Apex Court in Islamic Academy of Education v. State of Karnataka (2003) 6 SCC 697, L.M.T Limited v. State of U.P. and Others, AIR 2008 SC 1032, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited and another v. BPL Mobile Cellular Limited and another, (2008) 13 SCC 597, Union of India v. S. R. Dhingra and others, (2008) 2 SCC 229, Srinivasa Bhatt and others v. A. Sarvothama Kini and others, (2010) 12 SCC 523, State of Assam v. Union of India and others (2010) 10 SCC 408, State of Orissa v. Mangalam Timber Products Limited, AIR 2004 SC 297.