Educational institutions cannot withhold original academic certificates of students to enforce monetary claims for tuition fees, as such certificates are the personal property of the student and their retention is illegal and arbitrary.

: O R D E R :

This Writ Petition is filed seeking the following relief:

“declaring the action of the Respondents more particularly Respondent No.4 is not returning the petitioner Original SSC Certificates, Intermediate Certificates along with B.tech Provisional Certificate, Consolidated Marks Memo and others Educational Documents which are withheld with the Respondent No.4 as illegal custody, as illegal, arbitrary and violative of Article 14 and 300A of the Constitution of India and consequently direct the Respondent No.4 respondents to return the petitioners Original SSC Certificates, Intermediate Certificates along with B.tech Provisional Certificate, Consolidated Marks Memo and others Educational Documents to the petitioner and pass…”

2. Heard Mr. SK Ashraf, learned counsel for the petitioner, learned Assistant Government Pleader for Higher Education, for respondent Nos.1 and 2, Mr. Prabhakar Peri, learned Standing Counsel for JNTU, for respondent No.3. There is no representation for respondent No.4.

3. Case of the petitioner is that he has pursued his Engineering course in respondent No.4 college and upon completion of his studies, he has approached the management for return of his original certificates. However, respondent No.4 refused to return his original certificates and insisted him to pay the Tuition Fee and other fees, amounting to Rs.2,10,000/-, though he is eligible for Fees Reimbursement. Hence, the present writ petition.

4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner requires his original certificates to secure employment and sustain his livelihood and no dues are pending against him. The petitioner is not in a financial position to pay the amount demanded by respondent No.4. He further submits that the action of respondent No.4 in withholding the original certificates submitted by the petitioner at the time of admission is illegal and arbitrary. Therefore, he seeks a direction to respondent No.4 to forthwith return the petitioner’s original certificates.

5. Perused the record.

6. It is not in dispute that the petitioner has completed his studies in respondent No.4 college and his original certificates i.e., Original SSC Certificates, Intermediate Certificates along with B.Tech Provisional Certificate, Consolidated Marks Memo and other Educational documents, were in the custody of respondent No.4-college. The said certificates, being personal and academic credentials, are undoubtedly the property of the petitioner. In such circumstances, respondent No.4-college has no authority whatsoever to retain the said certificates and the retention of the petitioner’s original certificates by respondent No.4 is wholly unjustified and cannot be sustained. Even assuming that the college has any monetary claim against the petitioner, withholding his original certificates cannot be adopted as a mode of enforcing such claim, the proper remedy, if any available to the college is to proceed in accordance with law for recovery of its dues, but not retain the petitioner’s original certificates.

7. For the foregoing discussion, this Writ Petition is allowed, directing respondent No.4 to forthwith return the original certificates referred to above to the petitioner, within a period of one (1) week, from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. No costs.

Pending miscellaneous applications, if any, shall stand closed.