Refund Rs 6 lakh Extra fees collected by each PG Medical Student: Gujarat HC directs GCRI

Ahmedabad: In a recent directive passed by the Gujarat High Court, the Gujarat Cancer and Research Institute (GCRI) has been instructed to refund the additional fees collected from the Post-Graduate medical students that was more than what was prescribed by the BJ Medical College, to which the institute is affiliated.

The amount of refund comes to Rs 6 lakh per PG medical student.

The Indian Express reports about the case which goes back to year 2011, when the students of the medical college i.e. the petitioners moved the State High Court complaining about the GCRI management. It had been alleged that the medical institute had collected the additional fees of Rs 1 lakh per term for three years (total six terms) from the medical students, who enrolled themselves in the Post-Graduate Multi-Specialty course.

The petitioners informed that they went to Gujarat Cancer and Research Institute for pursuing their PG studies, where they were allegedly told that they would be required to pay Rs 1 lakh per term for 3 years (two terms in each year) to the GCRI, evidently over and above the fees fixed by the BJ Medical College and Gujarat University.

Objecting to the medical institute's "unjust" demand, the PG medicos refused to pay the asked amount. In response to the uproar, the Gujarat Cancer and Research Institute allegedly stated that 'if the said amount is not deposited by the petitioners, Joining Reports would not be prepared and admissions would be cancelled', thereby forcing them to pay the amount.

Seeing no other alternative, the PG medical students felt constrained and deposited Rs 1 lakh as an additional fee over and above the legitimate fees to be paid by them. After that, the Joining Reports were prepared.

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Upset with the GCRI administration, the PG medical students moved to the Gujarat High Court.

Now, during a recent hearing on the case, the court observed that the petitioners, who have paid Rs 1 lakh fees to Gujarat Cancer and Research Institute were entitled to refund, reports The Indian Express.

The bench of Justice K M Thaker issued an order stating that the petitioners should submit demand-note for refund with proof of identity, in order to receive the entitled refund and also directed the medical institute to pay the collected additional money back to the petitioners.

"After scrutiny of such evidence (identity), the respondent No. 4 (GCRI) shall return said additional fees to the petitioners within 4 weeks from the date of receipt of the demand note".

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