Bombay High Court

SYED AFFAN ULLAH AIJAZ ULLAH AND OTHERSversusTHE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA THR ITS CHIEF SECRETARY AND OTHERS

Disposal: DISPOSED OFF

Holding

The Court held that the petitioners were not entitled to the relief sought and dismissed the writ petition.

Summary

The petitioners, selected for a scholarship to study Structural Engineering at the University of Bristol, sought a writ of mandamus directing the State of Maharashtra to disburse the full scholarship amount and visa fees into their personal bank accounts to satisfy new UK visa requirements. The UK immigration rules now require financial sponsorship from the applicant's national government or specified bodies, and the State’s sponsor letter was deemed non‑compliant. The petitioners argued that the State’s refusal to deposit the funds violated their rights under Article 226 of the Constitution. The respondents contended that the scholarship guidelines, as per the 2023 Government Resolution, mandate payment directly to the foreign university, not to the individual. The Court held that the petitioners were not entitled to the relief sought because the State’s obligations under the scholarship scheme do not include personal disbursement of funds. Consequently, the petition was dismissed for lack of merit.

Issues considered

Whether the State of Maharashtra is constitutionally obligated to deposit the scholarship amount into the petitioners' personal accounts to meet UK visa financial sponsor requirements.
Whether a writ of mandamus can be issued under Article 226 to compel the State to make such disbursement.

Legislation cited

Constitution of India — s. Article 226

Subjects

Article 226
writ of mandamus
scholarship disbursement
UK visa rules
financial sponsor
Maharashtra government
education abroad
constitutional remedy

Judgment

2026:BHC-AUG:39554-DB

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
BENCH AT AURANGABAD

901 WRIT PETITION NO. 10198 OF 2026

Syed Affan Ullah Aijaz Ullah And Others
VERSUS
The State Of Maharashtra Thr Its Chief Secretary And Others
...
Mr. Mohammed Aamir And Mr. Kushal S. Morey, Advocate for
the Petitioner
Ms. N. B. Kamble, AGP for Respondents/State
...

CORAM : NITIN B. SURYAWANSHI &
ABASAHEB D. SHINDE, JJ.
DATE : 27th AUGUST 2026
P. C. :-

1. The petitioner by this petition, filed under Article 226 of

the Constitution of India has put forth prayer Clauses B and C,

which read thus :-

“B) By issuing writ of mandamus or any other appropriate
writ in like nature, the Respondents may kindly be directed to
disburse the entire sectioned scholarship amount i.e. Tuition
Fees, Accommodation, food and Living expenses, contingency
allowance, international health surcharge cost, air fare cost in
the bank account of the petitioners within a time-bound period
as may be deemed fit by this Hon’ble Court.

C) By issuing writ of mandamus or any other writ in like
nature, the Respondents may kindly be directed to immediately
pay the super priority VISA fees to the petitioners within a time-
bound period as may be deemed fit by this Hon’ble Court.”

2. We have heard learned Advocate for the petitioner,

learned AGP for Respondents/State. We have also perused the

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grounds raised in the Writ Petition and the annexures thereto.

3. The petitioner is seeking the above directions as the

petitioner claims to have been selected for admission in the

University of Bristol, United Kingdom for the course Structure

Engineering (Composit Materials and Sustainable Design). It is

not in dispute that the petitioner is selected for the scholarship

by the Respondent/State Government. His name appears at

Serial No.25 in the select list of the students who are awarded

the said scholarship.

4. Recently, the United Kingdom has changed their visa

norms. It has refused the application of the petitioner on the

following grounds :-

“Reasons for Decision

Your application has been refused for the following reason(s):

You have claimed 10 points for funds under Paragraph 6.1 of
Appendix Student of the Immigration Rules, however, the
documents you have provided do not demonstrate that you are
in possession of the required level of funds.

Paragraphs FIN 8.1 and FIN 8.3 of Appendix Finance state:

FIN 8.1. Funds may be held in any form of personal bank or
building society account (including current, deposit, savings,
pension from which the funds can be withdrawn or investment
account) provided the account allows the funds to be accessed
immediately.

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FIN 8.3. An applicant applying as a Student or Child Student,
will meet the financial Requirements if they provide evidence of
any of the following (or a combination of them)

(a) money held in an account that meets the requirements set
out in FIN 5.1. and FIN 8.1; or
(b) funds provided by an official financial sponsor, which must
be His Majesty's Government, the applicant's national
government, the British Council or any international
organisation, international company, university or Independent
School; or
(c) a student loan provided by:
(i) a government, or
(ii) a government sponsored student loan company, or
(iii) an academic or educational loans scheme which is
provided by a financial institution regulated for the purpose
of issuing student loans by either the Financial Conduct
Authority (FCA) or the Prudential Regulation Authority
(PRA) or, in the case of an overseas loan, the official
regulatory body for purpose of issuing student loans in the
country the institution is in and where the money is held.

You have submitted a financial sponsor letter from the State
Government of Maharashtra, dated 07/05/2026, which does not
meet the above criteria as your intended funds are not being
provided by your national government.

I am therefore not satisfied that you have achieved 10 points
under paragraph 6.1 of Appendix Student and meet the
requirements to be granted entry clearance under the Student
Route.

I therefore refuse your application under paragraphs FIN 8.1
and FIN 8.3 of Appendix Finance, ST 6.1 of Appendix Student of
the Immigration Rules.”

5. In these facts, the petitioner has approached this Court

with above mentioned prayers.

6. Learned AGP, on instructions submits that due to change

of policy of the Visa by United Kingdom Government they are

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only accepting the student’s funds provided by an official

financial sponsor, which must be His Majesty’s Government, the

applicant's national government, the British Council or any

international organisation, international company, university or

Independent School, as mentioned in the above quoted letter.

The petitioner has submitted a financial sponsor letter from the

State Government of Maharashtra dated 07.05.2026, which

does not meet the criteria mentioned in the said communication

as the petitioner’s intended funds are not being provided by his

national government. Government Resolution dated 23.11.2023

provides the guidelines for the scholarship being provided to the

minority students for taking education abroad. Clause-9 (1)

provides that the entire tuition fee mentioned by the University

at abroad in the offer letter, would be paid to the said University

by the authorized agency. In this view of the matter also the

petitioner cannot claim that the entire scholarship amount and

the other amount should be deposited in his personal account so

as to enable him to get the Visa from the United Kingdom

government.

7. Unfortunately, due to change in the visa policy by United

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Kingdom Government, the petitioner is not in a position to take

education abroad. All our sympathies are with the petitioner but

the sympathies cannot entitle the petitioner to any relief. We,

therefore, find no merit in the petition. Writ Petition, is

therefore, dismissed.

(ABASAHEB D. SHINDE, J.) (NITIN B. SURYAWANSHI, J.)

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