SC directs Uttarakhand medical college to release students’ original documents; advocate Tanvi Dubey calls it "big relief" for students

On Monday, September 9, the Supreme Court (SC) issued an interim order in response to a petition from medical students challenging a medical college's withholding of their original documents due to unpaid fees.

The Supreme Court directed the release of the documents on the condition that a deposit of Rs 7.5 lakh be made toward the outstanding fees, accompanied by an undertaking to pay the remaining balance.

This comes after a few MBBS students had challenged the fee hike imposed by Dehradun’s Shri Guru Ram Rai Institute of Medical and Health Sciences for its MBBS course. The college increased the fees from Rs 5 lakh per student to Rs 13.22 lakh for the All India Quota (AIQ), and from Rs 4 lakh to Rs 9.78 lakh for the State Quota, per annum. This fee adjustment was applied retroactively from April 2018, affecting students from the 2018 batch, as reported by LiveLaw.in.

Speaking to EdexLive, Supreme Court Advocate Tanvi Dubey who appeared for the petitioners on Monday, said, “The Supreme Court has given a big relief to the students by ordering the college to release the students’ original documents. These students, many of whom belong to poor economical backgrounds, are being asked to pay an exorbitant amount of fee due to no fault of their own. In absence of original documents, they wouldn't have been able to sit for National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-PG) counselling or work in hospitals as junior doctors.”

Yesterday, September 9, a bench consisting of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra issued an interim direction allowing the students to retrieve their original documents. This is conditional upon the payment of Rs. 7.5 lakh and an undertaking to pay the remaining balance based on the outcome of the case.

Background

Earlier, the matter was taken to Uttarakhand High Court, which directed that the total arrears of Rs 36.99 lakh (for the All India Quota) and Rs 26.01 lakh (for the State Quota) be paid in nine instalments. 

However, despite this directive, the college issued a notice stating that internships would not commence until payment was made. This decision has been appealed in the Supreme Court.

Then, on April 28, 2024, the apex court directed that the internship should continue provided that the fees are deposited in two instalments. Additionally, the court instructed the Uttarakhand High Court to expedite the resolution of the pending writ petition, aiming for a decision "preferably within three months from today".

However, the high court's order on August 6 scheduled the next hearing for March 2025. The Ccurt also noted that the original documents would only be released if the petitioners complied with the deposit requirement set forth in the February 28 order.