(1.) In Perspective: A student joined a course and left the college in the second year. The college compelled him to pay liquidated damages, which he did for securing his academic certificates. On his complaint, the statutory Committee ordered refund. The college assails the Committee's order as bad. The Dispute:
(2.) The facts in brief are that the 4th respondent ('the Student') secured admission into an engineering course in the petitioner college ('the College') and joined the course on 24.7.2014. In the course of time, the Student, it seems, discontinued his course. His mother submitted Ext.P3 representation, dated 2.6.2015, through the Honourable Minister for Industry and IT, to the College. She wanted her son's academic records and certificates returned to him. Financial difficulty was the reason she had cited for the Student's discontinuation.
(3.) When the College refused to return the documents as requested by the Student's mother, the Student paid the liquidated damages-Rs.2.25 lakhs and secured the documents. Nevertheless, the Student complained to the first respondent-Committee about the College collecting the liquidated damages and sought a direction to the College to refund the amount. As seen from the record, through Ext.P6 order the Committee ordered the College to refund the amount. Aggrieved, the College has filed this writ petition. Regulatory Regime: (a) Agreement