TC Not Caution Deposit for Fees, Telangana High Court Tells Colleges

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court has made it clear that educational institutions cannot withhold transfer certificates (TCs) on the grounds of a student defaulting on the payment of a fee.

The High Court said that the certificates of students are not a lien to put them as a caution deposit for the payment of dues. The court observed that the certificates are the property of the student.

Justice Surepalli Nanda observed that the right of children to get the TCs from one school to join another school for whatever reason cannot be denied by school authorities merely because the fee is due.

“If an amount is due towards the fee, the proper course is open to the educational institutions to file appropriate proceedings for the recovery before competent courts and coercive tactics cannot be adopted,” Justice Nanda said.

The judge was dealing with a petition filed by Vyshnav Dinesh and 42 others, who approached the High Court complaining that Sri Siddhartha School at Godavarikhani in Peddapalli district is not issuing transfer certificates.

As the school did not issue TCs, parents of the students were unable to produce them before another institution, in which they joined later. When the issue came before the court, Sri Siddhartha School informed the court that the rival school had lured its students to join their school and instigated the parents not to pay the fee dues, which are pending for more than two years.

However, the court did not agree with the decision of Sri Siddhartha School’s contention and directed it to issue the TCs to the students.