No fee refund if student withdraws after admission closure without vacancy being filled per AICTE guidelines.

ORDER

The petitioner is before this Court seeking a direction to the fourth respondent to refund a sum of Rs.1,97,000/- paid towards admission.

2.The petitioner was admitted to the B.E. Mechanical Engineering course in the fourth respondent college for the academic year 2020–2023 under the management quota. Subsequently, upon securing admission in a Government Agricultural College, the petitioner withdrew from the said course and requested the fourth respondent to refund the fees paid at the time of admission.

3.Learned counsel for the petitioner placed reliance on the public notice issued by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), contending that where a student withdraws and the resultant vacancy is filled before the last date of admission, the institution is bound to refund the fees collected. It was further contended that the fourth respondent had admitted students in excess of the sanctioned intake under the management quota and, therefore, had not suffered any financial loss.

4.Per contra, learned counsel for the fourth respondent submitted that, as per the AICTE public notice, refund of fees (after permissible deductions) is contingent upon the vacancy being filled before the last date of admission. In the present case, the petitioner withdrew after joining the course and the seat was not filled. Hence, the petitioner is not entitled to any refund.

5.This Court has considered the submissions made on either side and perused the materials available on record.

6.It is not in dispute that the petitioner was admitted under the management quota and had joined the course. The records produced by the fourth respondent disclose that admissions were approved and the admission process stood concluded on 30.11.2022. The petitioner, however, withdrew from the course only on 14.12.2022, i.e., after closure of admissions.

7.The AICTE public notice stipulates that where a student withdraws after joining the course, refund of fees arises only if the resultant vacancy is filled by another candidate on or before the last date of admission. In the present case, the vacancy caused by the petitioner’s withdrawal was not filled, as the admission process had already concluded.

8.In such circumstances, the petitioner cannot claim refund of the fees paid, as the conditions prescribed in the AICTE public notice are not satisfied.

9.The contention of the petitioner that the fourth respondent admitted students in excess of the sanctioned management quota and therefore suffered no financial loss cannot be accepted. The entitlement to refund is governed strictly by the terms of the AICTE guidelines, which do not provide for refund on such a ground.

10.In view of the above, this Court finds no merit in the writ petition.

11.Accordingly, the writ petition is dismissed. No costs.