IMPORTANT POINT
Admission fee cannot be calculated semester-wise.

Barkat Ali Zaidi, President—The facts of the case are that the complainant deposited Rs. 53,000 as fee in OP No.1 university, and thereafter, the Counseling before OP No.1 university, got admission in B. Tech 1st Year C.S.E. Branch in OP No.2 college affiliated with OP No.1 university, where he deposited Rs.6,100 towards the refundable security and activity fee, etc. and he attended classes from 1.8.2007 to 31.8.2007. Subsequently the complainant got admission in National Institute of Technology; Kurukshetra about which he informed OP No. 1 and OP No.2 college, and requested them to refund the fee. The OP No.2 refunded Rs.6,100, but the OP refused to refund Rs.53,000 deposited by him at the time of Counseling with OP No.1 university. The complainant therefore alleging deficiency on the part of the OPs filed a complaint before the District Consumer Forum with a prayer that the OPs be directed to refund him Rs.53,000 with interest @ 18% p.a. from 6.9.2007 till realization, Rs.40,000 towards the compensation and also the costs of proceedings.

2. The OPs filed their written statements and opposed the claim, pleading that university not amenable to the Consumer Protection Act, and their Admission Brochure II, 2007-08 provided to the candidate seeking admission contains the rules about Counseling, admission, withdrawal of admission and refund of fee, and the undertaking which a candidate has to give, countersigned by his parents to the OPs, that the candidate will abide by the terms and conditions and the Rules given therein of the university. The complainant had attended the classes in OP No.2 college after getting admission during the first Counseling from 1.8.2007 to 31.8.2007, and applied on 23.11.2007 for withdrawal of admission and refund of fee before OP No. 2 where this amount of Rs. 53,000 was transferred by the OP university. The cutoff date for withdrawal of admission and refund of fee was 10.11.2007, and therefore vide Condition No. 10.6 of the Brochure, he was not entitled to any refund of amount of fee after withdrawal of his admission, as the admission process was completed by 3.9.2007. In consequence of withdrawal by the complainant, the OP No.2 has suffered a loss of Rs.2,40,000 in the entire duration which is a heavy burden on OP No. 2.

3. The District Consumer Forum on consideration of evidence of both the parties, and the case laws referred by them, dismissed the complaint of the complainant holding, that it is case where the complainant himself surrendered his admission, after starting of the course, and attending the classes for one month in OP No.2 institution, in order to seek admission elsewhere. He had thus abandoned the course midway, and applied for the refund of fee late, after the cutoff date, mentioned in the brochure, and thus the OPs were not deficient in any way in their service to the complainant.

4. That is what brings the appellant/complainant in appeal before this Commission.

5. We have heard Mr. Vijay Kumar Jain, Counsel for the appellant, as none appeared on behalf of the respondents, at the time of hearing.

6. It will appear from the facts given above, that the appellant attended classes for one month and then applied for refund of fee, because he had obtained admission elsewhere. Since he applied after the cut-off date as given in the admission brochure, he was, according to the terms and conditions of the brochure, disentitled to reimbursement of fee. The Counsel for the appellant argued ‘that at the most, the OPs could have retained part of the fee of one semester, and were liable to refund the remaining. There is no such agreement, and no such condition has been given in the brochure, and the admission amount cannot be split in this manner, for this reason because admission fee is not calculated semester-wise. Moreover, no such prayer for part payment has been made in the complaint. The Counsel for appellant has referred to a decision of the National Commission in case of Guru Gob