Amarnath Machindranath Gopale v. Union Of India & ORS.

$~15 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI + AMARNATH MACHINDRANATH GOPALE .....Petitioner Through:

Mr. Saurabh Seth, DHCLSC, Ms.

Sumeera Seth, Ms. Neelam Preet Kaur, Mr.

Abhiroop Rathore, Mr. Kabir Dev and Mr. Sukhvir Singh, Advocates.

versus UNION OF INDIA & ORS.

.....Respondent Through:

Ms. Avshreya Pratap Singh Rudy, CGSC with Ms. Usha Jamnal, Government Pleader, Mr. Mohammad Junaid Mahmood and Ms. Prajna Pandita, Advocates for UOI.

Mr. Om Prakash, Mr. Chandresh Pratap, Ms. Swati Mishra, Ms. Komal Yadav and Mr. Prince Yadav, Advocates for UGC.

CORAM:

HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE JYOTI SINGH

O R D E R

% 17.11.2025 1.

This writ petition is filed on behalf of the Petitioner under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking the following reliefs:- "a. Issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction directing the Respondents to release and disburse the fellowship amount due and payable to the Petitioner under the Maulana Azad National Fellowship Scheme for the period 01.10.2019 to 31.03.2022; b. Issue a writ of certiorari or any other appropriate writ, order or direction quashing any rejection, reflected on the MANF Scholarship Portal pertaining to the Petitioner's fellowship claim; c. Pass any such orders or directions as this Hon 'ble Court may deem fit and proper."

The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above.

2.

Case of the Petitioner is that Maulana Azad National Fellowship Scheme (MANF) was launched by Ministry of Minority Affairs in 2009 to provide financial assistance to students from six notified minority communities pursuing M.Phil and Ph.D Degrees and Petitioner was selected under this scheme for academic year 2018-19 while pursuing his Ph.D degree at Central University of Punjab, Bathinda. However, despite fulfilling all eligibility conditions, completing Ph.D and obtaining all requisite certifications and recommendations from the University, conforming his eligibility and uninterrupted research engagement, Petitioner's fellowship for the period 01.10.2019 to 31.03.2022 has not been released.

3.

From a reading of the writ petition, it is evident that Petitioner has made repeated attempts for release of fellowship under MANF Scheme including the last application made in June, 2025. So far, no order has been passed by Respondent No.1 and therefore, it is not known as to why the fellowship has not been released, despite the Petitioner completing the Ph.D, fulfilling all eligibility conditions and providing requisite certifications, which is the case set out by the Petitioner. Sans an order by Respondent No.1, this Court is unable to adjudicate the issues raised by the Petitioner. It is therefore appropriate that Respondent No.1 passes an order after considering this writ petition as a representation. 4.

Accordingly, the writ petition is disposed of directing Respondent No.1 to consider the writ petition as a representation and decide the same taking into account the issues flagged by the Petitioner, facts averred and documents annexed to the writ petition. A reasoned and speaking order shall be passed within four weeks from today and the order shall be The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above.

communicated to the Petitioner within two days from the date of decision. 5.

It is made clear that this Court has not expressed any opinion on the merits of the case and needless to state that in the event Petitioner is aggrieved by the decision of Respondent No.1, he may take recourse to legal remedies, if so advised.

JYOTI SINGH, J NOVEMBER 17, 2025/YA The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above.