Supreme Court Prohibits Mid-Term Fee Hikes in Professional Courses

The Supreme Court of India has prohibited mid-term fee hikes in professional educational courses except under extraordinary circumstances. Delivering relief to families investing life savings into higher education, the court ruled that students enrolling in professional programmes must know their exact financial liability from the outset. The bench observed that for the overwhelming majority of households, fees payable for professional courses constitute a substantial portion of family income and savings. The court held that students entering four-year or five-year degree programmes like medicine or engineering should know their financial undertaking at the threshold. The judicial ruling was delivered by a Supreme Court bench comprising Justice Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe.

The National Education Policy 2020 envisages transparent fee determination and discourages arbitrary fee increases during student enrolment.

Enrolled students subjected to mid-course fee hikes prior to notification dates are entitled to a refund of excess fees or fee adjustments against subsequent semesters.

In 2023, Dr B.C. Roy Engineering College completed admissions in September 2023 before revising fees on December 15, 2023, triggering student litigation against mid-course hikes.

The Supreme Court affirmed directions requiring colleges to refund or adjust additional amounts collected from students admitted prior to October 16, 2023.