MADURAI
Reiterating that certificates of a student could not be held back by an educational institution citing arrears in fees, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has directed a private school in Pudukkottai district to hand over the certificates to a student.
In his petition, the student’s father, K. Palanisamy from Gandarvakottai, said that his son completed Class 12 in Vidya Vikash Matriculation School. However, the school authorities did not hand over the certificates citing arrears in school fees.
Justice M. Sundar observed that the court had repeatedly held that certificates of a student were his property and they could not be retained by an educational institution, citing any monetary claim. The certificates of a student were not like fixed deposits in banks, over which an educational institution could claim lien in terms of Section 171 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872.
However, it was open to the school to file a civil suit against the petitioner before the jurisdictional civil court to recover the arrears, the court said. The court directed the school authorities to issue the transfer certificate, conduct certificate, mark sheets and other necessary documents to the petitioner’s son within one week.
