HC orders varsity to refund fees to 8 students

The Madras High Court has directed a university to refund fees collected from eight students and to pay them Rs 25 lakh each as compensation within 45 days for admitting them under the NRI quota when they had not appeared for the NEET and thereby, spoiling their career.

Justice S Vaidyanathan, who gave the directive when a batch of writ petitions from V S Subeeksha and others came up for hearing, also directed the Saveetha University to return their original certificates.

The judge was disposing of petitions from the students, seeking to quash the January 22 order of the Dental Council of India, directing the university to discharge 13 students admitted under the NRI category, who had not written the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).

The students pursuing their second-year course at the Saveetha Dental College affiliated to the university.

The judge said though the relief sought for by the students cannot be granted, they had already completed two years of study in the university and are now forced to stay away from the third year.

As they had lost two years and admission to the course is invalid, the fees paid by the students to the university under all heads have to be refunded to them, Vaidyanathan said.

Apart from the refund of the fees, the students will be entitled to Rs 25 lakh each as compensation, to be paid by the University, the judge said.

The amount will have to be paid within 45 days, failing which it was open to the government to attach the properties of Saveetha University to bring it to sale, Vaidyanathan said.

Further, the university shall return all the original certificates of the petitioners and issue the transfer certificates to them within a week, the judge added.