The Rajasthan High Court has issued an interim order restraining the state government from granting the Swami Vivekananda Scholarship for High Studies (earlier known as Rajiv Gandhi Scholarship) to students under the E3 category—those whose annual family income exceeds ₹25 lakh. The court raised serious concerns about the misuse of public funds and the absence of merit-based selection for this category.
"Millions of rupees have been given in the name of such Scholarships to candidates of rich & wealthy parents who are in fact, not in need to receive the same," observed the Court.
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Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand, while passing the order, expressed strong disappointment at the misuse of taxpayer money. He noted that the scheme, particularly the E3 category, has largely benefited students from affluent backgrounds, sidelining deserving poor and meritorious candidates.
"This court feels pain to observe that hard-earned money of the taxpayers is misused by the Government of Rajasthan... Most of the candidates claiming under E3 are well-off, and their family income exceeds ₹25 lakhs," the Court remarked.
The court observed that the scheme lacked a merit-based requirement for the E3 category, and distributing large sums to students with no exceptional academic record goes against the fundamental purpose of a scholarship.
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“By granting the benefit of the Scheme, in huge amount, to such Category of candidates having no merit or excellent academic record would frustrate the very purpose of Scholarship.”
The court highlighted a specific case where a candidate’s application was questioned after it was discovered that her brother had previously availed the scholarship under the E2 category. A Chartered Accountant’s expert opinion assessed the petitioner’s family income to be much higher than the claimed ₹8 lakhs, thus disqualifying her from the E1 category.
Despite her inclusion in the final selection list, the State did not grant her the scholarship. Her application was referred back to the Selection Committee, and multiple communications followed. However, the court noted that no commitments or assurances were made to her by the State.
"Hence, no legitimate expectation could be claimed by the petitioner as a matter of right."
In response to the larger issue, the Court asked the State to submit a detailed explanation on why the scheme should not be scrapped or modified to prevent misuse of government funds. It also ordered the submission of a complete list of all students who had availed the scholarship under all income categories—E1 (up to ₹8 lakh), E2 (₹8–25 lakh), and E3 (above ₹25 lakh).
The court also took judicial notice of the situation and recorded the misuse of public funds “in the garb of Scholarships.” According to the order, the State has yet to provide the required list, which the court stated reflects a lack of transparency.
“In any event, every Scholarship must include pre-requisition, which are characteristics that a student must possess in order to consider for the award,” the Court emphasized.
Until further notice, the Rajasthan High Court has barred the state from issuing benefits under the E3 category of the Swami Vivekananda Scholarship scheme, marking a crucial step towards ensuring merit and financial need are at the core of public scholarship schemes.
The matter has been scheduled for May 9.
Title: Manjeet Deora v State of Rajasthan & Ors.
