ROBIN GOYAL Vs. PUNJABI UNIVERSITY AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner has prayed for the issuance of a writ in the nature of mandamus directing the respondents to refund his balance fee of Rs. 1,45,045/ - with 18% interest.

(2.) IN short, the petitioner applied online on 24.07.2013 for admission to the Five Year Engineering Management Integrated Program in the Punjabi University, Patiala (hereinafter referred to as the "University") and deposited a sum of Rs. 2,900/ - towards fee on that day. He appeared in the counselling on 30.07.2013 and got the admission. He deposited a sum of Rs. 1,74,095/ - as tuition fee through bankers cheque No. 152390 dated 30.07.2013, Rs. 2,500/ - as counselling fee through bankers cheque No. 152376 dated 30.07.2013 and Rs. 1,000/ - as student activity fund through bankers cheque No. 152375 dated 30.07.2013. All the cheques were got encashed by the University. The petitioner also applied for B.Tech. course in the Thapar University and appeared for its counselling on 04.08.2013. He got admission in the Thapar University as well and, thus, surrendered the seat of the respondent No. 1 -University on 06.08.2013 and requested the Registrar of the University to refund his entire tuition fee deposited on 30.07.2013. The case of the petitioner is that the last date for admission in the University was 15.08.2013 and the University had conducted two counsellings after the petitioner had surrendered his seat. The petitioner received a draft of Rs. 32,556/ - dated 19.12.2013 along with the letter dated 02.01.2014 from the University but he was informed that as per the Handbook of Information 2013 -14 of the University, the appropriate amount has already been sent to him. It is submitted that as per Regulation 5(b) of Chapter I of the Punjabi University Calendar, Volume II, 2010 (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations"), the petitioner was entitled for refund of the entire tuition fee as he had vacated the seat only one day after joining the course. The relevant Regulation 5(b) of the Regulations, relied upon by the petitioner, is as under: - -

(3.) IT is argued by learned counsel for the petitioner that since the last date for counselling was 15.08.2013 and he had surrendered the seat on 06.08.2013 and two counsellings were held thereafter by the University out of which the last counselling was held on 14.08.2013, therefore, the petitioner was entitled for refund of the entire tuition fee. In support of his submissions, he has relied upon various decisions of this Court in the cases of Prabhjot Singh v. Punjab University, Chandigarh and others, 2010(1) SLR 424, Meenu Kaur v. Shri Guru Ramdass Institute of Dental Sciences and Research, Amritsar and another, 2011(3) SLR 423 and Nitish Bhardwaj v. Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, 2013(1) PLR 304.