guidelines for DNB trainees. The proceedings of the National Board of Examination dated 26.12.2013 was annexed to the said communication as per which minimum permissible limit of fee structure has been prescribed. As per the communication, the accredited institutions are at liberty to charge fees which is less than the fees indicated under the respective categories and the fee cannot be higher than the amount fixed by the National Board of Examination. The proceedings dated 26.12.2013 also prescribes for basic stipend which is payable to the DNB trainees such as the petitioners. According to the petitioners, the first year Broad Speciality, Super Speciality and Post Graduate Students were hitherto paid Rs.63,654/- as monthly stipend for the first year; Rs.65,521/- for the second year and Rs.68,446/- for the third year. This amount paid towards stipend is sought to be reduced drastically by the Railway Board under the revised norms to the extent that the first year trainees shall be paid Rs.25,000/-, second year trainees be paid Rs.27,000/- and the third year students will get Rs.29,000/-. For DNB Super Speciality trainees, the stipend was sought to be reduced to Rs.32,000/-, Rs.34,000/- and Rs.38,000/- in the first, second and third years of training respectively. According to the petitioners, the Railway Board has declared that the Doctors, who are DNB Trainees are full-fledged qualified Doctors to do full fledged service as Doctors and are available in the hospitals round the clock. Along with the residency, they also work towards obtaining specialist/super specialist qualification namely DNB, MB, MS etc., The payment in the form of stipend paid to the petitioners is for rendering full service as Doctors and not stipend. The Railway Board has clarified that DNB trainees are entitled to all allowances like other Doctors in the Government of India/Railways. Further, all the teaching Hospitals under the Railway Board imparting same courses have not reduced or sought to reduce the stipend payable to the students. While so, the Southern Railway Head Quarters Hospital at Chennai alone is attempting to implement the revised guidelines issued by the National Board of Examinations by reducing the stipend payable to the students admitted to super speciality and DNB Board speciality courses. Earlier, challenging the above attempt on the part of the respondents, WP No. 32283 of 2014 was filed before this Court and this Court passed an interim order directing the respondents 5 to 7 not to reduce the stipend payable to the students admitted till 20142015. Thereafter, as against the sum of Rs.20,000/- paid by the petitioners as tuition fee, they were made to pay Rs.80,000/which was not in vogue in other hospitals. Thus, the collection of tuition fee and the consequential attempt on the part of the respondents to reduce the quantum of stipend is discriminatory and arbitrary.
