'Admitted Student Can't Be Asked To Pay Revised Fees During Ongoing Course', Uttarakhand HC Quashes Retrospective Fee Hike In Ayurveda Colleges

Providing relief to students of B.A.M.S. courses from various Ayurvedic colleges of the State, the Uttarakhand High Court recently quashed the decision to extend the revised increased tuition fees in the year 2019 to the admission took place in the preceding years. Also, the Court said that the student is liable to pay the fees prevalent at the time of admission, and the fees cannot be revised unless the student completes the course. The Single Bench of Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari was hearing the batch of petitions where the colleges charged tuition fees based on a provisional determination by the Fee Regulatory Committee under the Uttarakhand Unaided Private Professional Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admission and Fixation of Fee) Act, 2006 (referred to as "the Act") in 2019, by applying retrospectively to students admitted in preceding years. The petitioners claimed that the fee determined by the Fee Regulatory Committee applies prospectively, and students who took admission in previous academic years cannot be asked to pay the enhanced fee determined by the committee in subsequent years. Finding force in the petitioner's contention, the Court observed that fees determined by the Fee Regulatory Committee under the Act applies prospectively and cannot be applied for students already admitted. “This Court finds substance in the said submission. In view of provision contained in subsections (12), (13) and (14) of Section 4 of the aforesaid Act, the tuition fee payable by students of a private unaided professional college can be revised only as per determination made by the committee; every college, before commencement of academic session, will have to require before the committee, the proposed fee structure and the fee determined by the committee, shall be applicable for a period of three years and after expiry of three years, the college would be at liberty to apply for revision. It is further revealed that fee determined by the committee shall be applicable to a student who takes admission in the same academic year in which the fee determination is made and the fee payable by such students shall not be revised till he / she completes the course.”, the court observed. “Thus, the order passed by Appellate Authority is in teeth of provision contained in Section 4 (14) of the Uttarakhand Unaided Private Professional Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admission and Fixation of Fee) Act, 2006, as such it is liable to be quashed.”, the court held. Resultantly, the Colleges were directed to issue No Objection Certificates (NOCs) and release educational certificates upon payment of the original admissible fees by the petitioners.Case Title: Bindiya Khatri and others. Versus State of Uttarakhand & others.Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (3) UTTClick here to read/download the judgmentAppearance:Counsel for the petitioners: Mr. Abhijay Negi, Mr. Vinod Tiwari and Ms. Snigdha Tiwari, learned counsel.Counsel for the respondents: Mr. Yogesh Chandra Tiwari, Standing Counsel for the State of UttarakhandMr. Sandeep Kothari, Advocate for Uttarakhand Ayurvedic University.Mr. Vipul Sharma, Advocate for Dev Bhoomi Medical College of Ayurveda & Hospital.Mr. Navneet Kaushik, Advocate for Om Group of College, Ayurvedic Medical College & Hospital and Research Centre.Mr. Aditya Pratap Singh, Advocate for Motherhood Ayurved Medical College.

'Admitted Student Can't Be Asked To Pay Revised Fees During Ongoing Course', Uttarakhand HC Quashes Retrospective Fee Hike In Ayurveda Colleges

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'Admitted Student Can't Be Asked To Pay Revised Fees During Ongoing Course', Uttarakhand HC Quashes Retrospective Fee Hike In Ayurveda Colleges

Yash Mittal

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