HC orders notice on medical student’s plea

A waiver of tuition, special and examination fees offered by govt.

The Madras High Court bench here on Monday ordered notice to the director of backward classes, Chennai, the backward class welfare officer, Madurai, and the principal of the Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Medical College and Hospital, Perambalur, on a petition filed by a II year MBBS student seeking sanction of a postmatric scholarship.

The petitioner, S. Ibrahim, claimed in his petition that he got admission to the Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Medical College through counselling. The government passed an order on December 24, 2012 providing postmatric scholarship for students who had secured admission in postmatric courses under the government quota, the petitioner added.

According to him, students, whose parents did not earn above Rs.2 lakh per year, were eligible for the scholarship. Under the scholarship, the government offered a waiver of tuition fees, special fees and examination fees for eligible candidates.

In his petition, Mr. Ibrahim claimed that his father, Syed Haneef Pasha, an advocate, earned only Rs.75,000 per year.

The petitioner had submitted a representation to the secretary of the backward classes, most backward classes and the denotified communities welfare department, and the director of backward classes on June 11, 2013 seeking a scholarship. The officials had directed him through a letter dated July 15, 2013 to submit the representation to the backward classes welfare officer through the principal of the medical college, the petitioner claimed.

In his petition, he alleged that the college administration did not forward his representations to the officials. Therefore, he moved the court seeking a direction to the college principal to forward his representations seeking a scholarship to the officials concerned.