HC stays recovery of increased fees from medical students

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Monday restrained the city-based KJ Somaiyya Medical College and Research Centre from recovering the hiked fees for academic year 2007-08 from its MBBS students.

The order of the division bench of Chief Justice, was in response to the petition filed by hundred-odd students of the college.

The new fee, which came into force last academic year and has been approved by Supreme Court appointed Shikshan Searlier.

However, the bench, which posted the matter for final hearing on July 3, directed the students to pay the fees for the last year as per the hiked fee structure within two weeks.

The students have paid Rs 1,89,000 last year, now they will have to pay the difference between hiked fee and earlier fee too.

Students complain that fee hike, though approved by SSS, is steep, as until 2004-05, they had to shell out only Rs 1,44,000.

Their case is that break-up of counts, on which the fee has been hiked including charges for hospital infrastructure, is not justified.

The court has now clubbed similar petitions regarding fee hike at other medical colleges with the present petition.