Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC-LKO:484-DB Court No. - 1 Case :- SPECIAL APPEAL DEFECTIVE No. - 632 of 2024 Appellant :- Atul Kumar Gupta And 55 Others Respondent :- U.P. Unaided Medical And Allied Sciences College Welfare Association Thru. Its Presdent And Ors Counsel for Appellant :- Meenakshi Singh Parihar Counsel for Respondent :- Amit Jaiswal Ojus Law,C.S.C. Hon'ble Attau Rahman Masoodi,J. Hon'ble Subhash Vidyarthi,J. Order on C.M. Application Nos. 1 of 2024 and 2 of 2024 1. The intra court appeal arising out of the judgment and order dated 17.8.2024 is delayed by 75 days. 2. An application for condonation of delay duly supported with an affidavit as well as the application for leave to appeal have been filed by the appellants along-with the appeal. 3. Reasons in detail have been spelt out in the affidavit filed in support of delay condonation application to which there is no objection. 4. In absence of any objection and the cause shown being sufficient, the delay in filing the present intra court appeal is condoned and the applications for condonation of delay as well as leave to appeal are allowed. Order on Appeal 5. The present intra court appeal has arisen out of the judgment and order dated 17.8.2024 rendered by the learned Single Judge in Writ C No. 6828 of 2024 wherein the certain directions were issued in paragraph no. 56, which is reproduced hereunder :- “56. Writ petition is allowed with the following directions: - a. The Fee Regulatory Committee shall proceed fix the fee for academic session 2024-25 in respect of the Institutions before this Court, in accordance with law. Page No. 1 of 4 b. The petitioner Institutions are required to submit all the documents and the proposal, if not already done, within one week from today i.e by 24.8.2024. c. The Committee shall determine the fee for the academic session 2024-25 within 4 weeks thereafter i.e by 21.09.2024, it shall be open for the Committee to consider the request of the petitioner Institutions for enhancement of the fee in proportion to the rate of inflation on the fee determined for academic session 2021-22 as provided for in the order of this Court dated 14/08/2024. d. At the time of counseling the students will be informed about the fees determined for academic session 2023-24, which would be the provisional fee subject to the final fee determined by the Committee. e. Upon enhancement, the arrears would be payable by the students in installments (half yearly/quarterly) depending upon the hike recommended by the Committee, which shall also determine the number of instalments to be paid by the students. f. This Court while interpreting the provisions of the Act of 2006 in the case of Indian Institute of Management and Engineering Society and Another, 2016 SCC Online All 3451 had clearly stated that the Committee in future has to discharge its statutory function in determination of fee well in advance, and the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Islamic Academy (supra) had stated that the fee shall be determine 6 months in advance and despite the said directions the Committee has not determined the fee for the academic session 2024- 25, despite the fact that the counseling is about to commence, which clearly amounts to defiance of the orders of this Court and hence they are liable to be proceeded for contempt, but after due consideration this Court is of the view that the end of justice in the present case would be met by directing the Chief Secretary, Government of U.P. to conduct an enquiry against the persons responsible for delay in constitution of the Fee Fixation Committee and also with regard to the failure of the Committee to make determination of fee as mandated by the Act of 2006. Let the enquiry be concluded within a period of 2 months, and a copy shall be forwarded to this Court Page No. 2 of 4 through its Senior Registrar. We again caution the State Government as well as the Fee Fixation Committee to proceed to determine the fee well in advance for the next session failing which they shall be liable to be proceeded in contempt”. 6. It is informed that the Fee Fixation Committee having been constituted in pursuance of the judgment/order passed by this Court on 17.8.2024 has made necessary recommendation for fee hike with respect to six colleges i.e. respondent nos. 2, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 12. The present is the case relating to respondent no. 2. The appellants are the parents of the students who have been admitted against MBBS course in Sri Ram Murti Smarak Institute of Medical Sciences i.e. respondent no. 2. Insofar as the challenge to the impugned judgment/order passed by the learned Single Judge is concerned, we do not gather any illegality insofar as the direction issued for the revision of fee in the light of the provisions of the Act is concerned. 7. The statutory function under the Uttar Pradesh Private Professional Educational Institutions(Regulation of Admission and Fixation of Fee) Act, 2006 are well guided. To assume that the pay fixation committee may not have adhered to the principle embodied under the Act would be far fetched proposition as the opportunity envisaged under the Act is protected for the colleges to putforth the infrastructure or the other expenses incurred for imparting the education. 8. Once on the basis of recommendation of pay fixation committee, the hike in fee is notified by the State, the remedy against such a measure is provided under Section 12 of the Act itself before the appellate authority. The appellate authority, as has been apprised to the Court, is very much functional. Moreover, the disputed question of facts have to be ascertained for viewing the issue one way or the other. The appellate authority is vested with the power of undertaking a deeper probe into the relevant facts as well as the interest of the aggrieved parties. Page No. 3 of 4 9. Once the mechanism has been evolved under the statute for redressal of the grievance involving disputed questions of facts and law, this Court deems it appropriate that in case the petitioners are aggrieved against the hike in fee as has been notified in the government order dated 28.10.2024, they may avail the remedy of appeal under Section 11 of the Act. 10. The appellants are at liberty to file an appeal before the appellate authority and in case the appeal is filed within a period of 15 days from today, the same shall be decided within a period of four months from the date of its filing. 11. It is made clear that the appellate authority while deciding the appeal shall proceed on the own merit of the case and shall not be guided by any observation made by learned Single Judge in the judgment/order impugned herein. 12. We also make it clear that in case the students deposit the requisite amount within a period of one month from today, no coercive measure shall be taken against them and the fine of Rs. 200/- or any other amount towards fine shall not be charged from the students on account of delay in the payment and the regular installments shall be paid as per the schedule. Any deposit made by the students in the meantime shall abide by the outcome of the appeal filed by the petitioner under Section 11 of the Act in terms of this order. 13. The appeal is accordingly disposed of. [Subhash Vidyarthi,J.] [Attau Rahman Masoodi, J.] Order Date :- 3.1.2025 kanhaiya Page No. 4 of 4 Digitally signed by :- KANHAIYA KUMAR High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench