- ‘No mandate on state govt to implement it if better alternatives are available’
By Alok Mohit
PATNA: The Patna high court, in a recent ruling, dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition seeking full implementation of a scheme for post-matric (class 10) scholarship to students belonging to Scheduled Castes in India.
The order was uploaded on the high court’s website on August 26.
The petition was filed by Rajeev Kumar and Youth for Dalit Adiwasi Rights through its general secretary Rajesh Kumar. The respondents included various government bodies, including the Union of India and the State of Bihar.
The petition had urged the court to direct the authorities concerned to implement clause 8 of the guidelines on the scholarship scheme for SC students, which is run by the Union ministry of social justice and empowerment, and for ST students by the ministry of tribal affairs. The scholarship for SC students were revised in 2020-21 and 2021-22, respectively, up to financial year 2025-26.
The petitioner said clause 8 of the guidelines dealt with the issuance of freeship cards. By not implementing this clause, the state of Bihar had arbitrarily limited the maximum amount of post-matric scholarship, including tuition fees and other non-refundable fees payable to eligible beneficiaries, thus not fully adhering to the Central government’s guidelines, the petitioner contended.
In its judgment, a division bench of the court, comprising the Chief Justice K Vinod Chandran and Justice Partha Sarthy said the scheme outlined in the guidelines was not statutory and that there was no mandate on the state government to implement it if better alternatives were available.
The court said government advocate Prashant Pratap had drawn its attention to a counter affidavit which pointed out that the guidelines for implementation of the scheme also created liability on the respective state governments/ Union Territories with respect to the actual expenditure for which provision had to be made in their respective budgets. The court noted that the financial responsibility for implementing the scheme was shared by the Union and state governments in a 60:40 ratio. Furthermore, the court emphasised that the state government had the option to implement the scheme based on its discretion.
The court acknowledged the state government’s concerns about disbursing funds optimally to ensure the coverage of all marginalised sections of society. It held that these issues fall within the policy domain of the state and that the court should not interfere with the government’s prerogative in such matters.
The court declined to issue any “positive directions” based on the guidelines and dismissed the petition. It expressed the hope that the state government would continue to focus on the welfare of marginalised communities and work towards their uplift.
The ruling brings attention to the delicate balance between the judiciary’s role in safeguarding citizens’ rights and the government’s authority to formulate and execute policies according to the needs and priorities of the state.
Government advocate Prashant Pratap appeared for the state of Bihar while additional solicitor general KN Singh argued on behalf of the Union government. Advocates Vikash Kumar Pankaj and Pratiyush Kumar represented the petitioner.
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(Author Alok Mohit is former senior News Editor of Hindustan Times Patna and Chandigarh editions; can be contacted at mohit.alok19@gmail.com)
