The Allahabad High Court in Sanskriti Ranjan vs Joint Seat Allocation Authority Thru. Org. Chairman Jee & Ors directed respondent to admit the petitioner-student on court expenses to IIT BHU who lost the B.Tech seat despite qualifying for it owing to personal financial crisis.
In a recent Judgement, Hon’ble Kerala High Court has ruled that Deemed Universities cannot charge fees in excess from the students, which is not mentioned in the prospectus. The High Court directed the Deemed University to refund the excess fee collected from the students.
The Division Bench of Calcutta High Court while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in Rajib Chakraborty and Ors. Vs. The State of West Bengal and Ors — W.P.A.(P) 162 of 2021, passed an interim order stating that parents should pay 50% of due school fees, failing which actions will be taken against the student including suspension, removal from the roll of the school, and suspending qualification and certificates till the school fees are paid.
The Patna High Court in Kartikay Trivedi & Ors vs Chanakya National Law University held the demand of facility and library fees from students as arbitrary and illegal as the students, owing to the pandemic lockdown, had not utilized these resources. The court additionally asked educational institutes to adopt a sensitive approach when charging fees, especially during the pandemic.
Bombay High Court in Shri Pratapsing Ganpatsing Chopadar vs The Chairman, Maharashtra State Board of Secondary & Higher Secondary Education & Anr. (PIL no. 39 of 2021) directed respondent no. 1, Chairman of the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary & Higher Secondary Education, to consider the refund of cancelled SSC and HSC examinations owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In view of Covid-19 Pandemic , UGC has requested the Institutions to consider the matter regarding payment of annual/semester fee, tuition fee, examination fee, etc. sympathetically and if feasible, may consider offering alternative payment options to students till the situation returns to normal.