The court ruled that educational institutions have an obligation to issue Transfer Certificates upon request when relevant to a student's enrollment process.

ORDER

The writ petition has been filed seeking a direction to the respondents 5 and 6 to return the petitioner's original Transfer Certificate, which was sent by the fourth respondent on 23.09.2018, thereby enabling the petitioner to enroll himself as an Advocate in the light of the forwarding of the representation by the third respondent.

2. Upon hearing the learned counsel for the petitioner and perusing the affidavit filed in support of the writ petition, it can be seen that the petitioner, after completing his 12^th Standard, enrolled himself in the fourth respondent College, namely, K.L.E. Society’s Law College, Annapurneshwari Nagar, Ullal, Karnataka, to undergo the five-year Integrated B.A., LL.B. Degree Course during the academic years 2015–2020.

3. When the petitioner had completed three years of the course, he found it difficult to continue and thought of migrating to the institution of the respondents 5 and 6, which is situated nearer to his native place at Arasanoor Village, Sivagangai District. When the petitioner approached the fourth respondent College, he was informed that if a request was received from the concerned College, the educational certificates and the Transfer Certificate would be sent directly to the said College.

4. According to the petitioner, a request was thereafter made by the respondents 5 and 6 to the fourth respondent and, pursuant to the same, the fourth respondent sent the educational certificates as well as the Transfer Certificate by post to the respondents 5 and 6. However, when the petitioner approached the respondents 5 and 6, he was informed that he could be admitted only in the first year. The petitioner found that the difficulty faced by him in studying in Karnataka was lesser when compared to the fact that he would lose three years of study if he were to start afresh. Therefore, he reversed his decision and continued his studies in the fourth respondent College and eventually completed the course.

He is now in the process of enrolling himself as an Advocate.

5. At that stage, when the petitioner approached the fourth respondent College, he was informed that the educational certificates and the Transfer Certificate had already been sent to the respondents 5 and 6. When the petitioner approached the respondents 5 and 6, they handed over the other educational certificates, such as the 10^th and 12^th Standard certificates, but did not hand over the Transfer Certificate. Thus, neither the respondents 5 and 6 are handing over the Transfer Certificate nor is the fourth respondent issuing a fresh one, and therefore the petitioner’s enrolment is pending on account of the same.

6. The learned Government Advocate appearing for the respondents 2 and 3 submitted that obtaining the Transfer Certificate from the private Law College in Karnataka is a matter between the petitioner and the said College and that the respondents 2 and 3 are not directly concerned with the same.

7. The learned counsel appearing for the respondents 5 and 6 submitted that it is true that the petitioner approached their institution; however, they were in a position to admit him only in the first year and the same was informed to the petitioner. It was further submitted that the respondents 5 and 6 are not in possession of the Transfer Certificate.

8. I have considered the rival submissions made on either side and perused the material records.

9. The core grievance of the petitioner is that he requires the Transfer Certificate in order to get himself enrolled as an Advocate. Even according to the petitioner, he has completed the entire course, namely, B.A., LL.B., only in the fourth respondent College, namely, K.L.