The Supreme Court has refused to entertain a medical student's plea seeking a reduction in his tuition fees at a private medical college in Rajasthan, citing his socioeconomic background. The student, Harshvardhan Singh, had applied under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category but was allotted a general seat.
The bench of justices BV Nagarathna and Joymalya Bagchi stated that private colleges are self-financing institutions, and the fees cannot be compared to those of government colleges. They referred to the landmark Supreme Court judgment in the TMA Pai case, which barred private colleges from charging capitation fees.
The National Medical Commission (NMC) had recommended that 50% of the seats in private medical colleges should have fees at par with government medical colleges. However, the high court held that the NMC order is not mandatory but merely recommendatory.
The bench dismissed the appeal, stating that those who have the will to pay will do so. The high court had earlier rejected Singh's plea, stating that there was no illegality in the fee charged by the private college.
