Hyderabad: The state government transgressed its purview in fixing fees for PG medical courses in private medical colleges, the Telangana high court said on Wednesday as it struck down two GOs (41 & 43) issued in 2017 raising it substantially.

The HC also directed private colleges to refund the excess money collected from students and to release the original certificates of those who had completed their PG courses within 30 days.

“Colleges cannot insist that students clear dues related to the excess fee,” said a bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Shameem Akther while disposing of PILs filed by the Healthcare Reforms Doctors Association and a few others challenging the state’s action.

Agreeing with the argument of petitioner’s counsel Sama Sandeep Reddy, the bench said that fixing fees is the job of the Admission and Fee Regulatory Committee (AFRC) and the state has no role.

The state, in this case, had done this job even after being aware that the same was done by the AFRC for the block period 2016-19. In fact, the state itself had notified the AFRC recommendations for the period 2016-19, but subsequently the special chief secretary kept urging the AFRC to review the fee structure which the latter refused to do.

When the HC asked additional advocate general J Ramachandra Rao about state’s authority to issue GOs 41 and 43 on May 9, 2017, raising PG medical raising PG medical course fees for minority and non-minority medical colleges even after it was fixed by AFRC, he admitted that the job belonged to the AFRC and the Supreme Court too had made it clear that state governments should not venture into tasks meant for AFRCs. Sandeep said that the HC decision to strike down the GOs would help thousands of PG medical and dental doctors sitting idle because all their original certificates were being illegally withheld by colleges in the state.

“All these doctors will now be available for service in both government and private sectors. This would strengthen the medical and health infrastructure in the state, especially during the pandemic,” Sandeep said.