Plans of the Telangana Government to restrict the fee reimbursement scheme only to the local student and exclude the Andhra Pradesh students has run into a wall as the Hyderabad High Court struck down the financial assistance for students of Telangana or FAST scheme.
A division Bench comprising Chief Justice Kalyan Jyoti Sengupta and Justice P V Sanajay Kumar came down hard on the move and directed the Government to put any guidelines for the implementation of FAST.
“You have the power to scrap the scheme but have no power to put such barriers which are unconstitutional”, the court observed. It said that if the court allows such GO it will result in secessionist and anti-integration acts.
The GO 236 of Telagana Government replacing the earlier fee reimbursement scheme was challenged separately by a TDP legislator P Satynarayana and Former Minister of Congress Dokka Manikya Varaprasad Rao.
Under the GO, Telangna Government had announced that only Telangana students whose parents had settled down or born in Telangana on or before November 1, 1956.
The court questioned the rational of setting November 1, 1956 a cut-off date. “just because you have power, don’t be under the impression that you can do anything under the sun. you cant use power given by people in a whimsical manner”, the court said. It directed the state government to file a counter affidavit to be heard after seven weeks.
In another blow to the Telangana Government, the High Court also stayed another GO on re-registering of vehicles. The court observed that the GO was not in accordance with the Constitution.