ANUJA RAVEENDRAN Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The confusion that prevails on every student in times of admission to Professional Colleges has dragged the petitioner to this Court. Petitioner claims refund of the liquidated damages of Rs.75,000/- and tuition fee of Rs.44,400/- paid by her while gaining admission to the Engineering course.

(2.) Initially, in the first phase petitioner was allotted to University College of Engineering, Thodupuzha. She remitted the initial tuition fee of Rs.35,000/- in favour of 2 nd respondent as seen from Ext.P6. In the meantime, petitioner was allotted the 3rd respondent College under the same stream and same branch. Thus petitioner obtained admission at the Lal Bahadur Shastri College of Engineering, Muliyar, Kasaragod and before 15.08.2014 she had paid the remaining tuition fee as evidenced by Ext.P7 as well as all other fees prescribed for the particular College including the PTA fund.

(3.) Soon thereafter, petitioner obtained allotment for B.Sc Agriculture which is an allied course of the medical stream and she preferred to join the said course. However, when she requested for the Transfer Certificate from the 3 rd respondent Engineering College, the 3rd respondent invoked Clause 12.2.4 of the prospectus for the relevant year and directed the petitioner to pay liquidated damages of Rs.75,000/- for the purpose of being issued with the Transfer Certificate. Faced with such a difficult situation, petitioner was compelled to pay the amount purported to be fixed as liquidated damages. It is the case of the petitioner that she had to leave the 3rd respondent College, to pursue her choice of course. On account of the different cut off dates for admission fixed for the different courses and the different dates of allotment she was compelled to join the Engineering stream. Petitioner contends that had the cut off dates been fixed in a manner that would not have caused prejudice to the students, she would not have had to undergo this trauma and loss of her tuition fee nor would she have had to pay liquidated damages. In support of the claim for refund of the amounts that had been paid to respondents 2 to 4, petitioner produced Ext.P15 G.O(Gen) No.362/2015/Hedn. dated 24.02.2015 in which Government, considering the plight of students issued directions exonerating the liability of students to pay the liquidated damages and also directed the Commissioner of Entrance Examinations to refund the tuition fees collected.