THE National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission directed the College of Science and Technology, Vishakhapatnam (Andhra University) to refund the fee paid by student Janjanam Jagedeesh who took admission for an M.Sc. in Animal Biotechnology but withdrew before the course started in 2004.

The court said that the institute could retain Rs. 1,000 towards processing fee from the Rs. 80,915 Jagedeesh deposited. "Institute was unfair in retaining the entire fee, even after the student withdrew from their college," the commission said in its July 6 order.
 
The Commission ordered that Jagedeesh’s money be refunded along with an interest of six per cent per annum within two months, failing which "the petitioners (college and university) will pay interest at the rate of 10 per cent per annum from the date of complaint till its payment".
 
According to a newspaper report on July 11 in a national daily, in its defense the college and university cited a Supreme Court ruling, which said a university did not render any service and therefore, students could not claim to be a consumer. But the National Commission rejected the argument, saying the SC order was in the context of conducting examinations only.
 
The national consumer court ruled that the educational institution is bound to refund admission fee of a student if he/ she opts out before a course has started and the vacant seat goes to another candidate. 
 
Note: It’s a common practice by many schools and colleges not to refund admission fee even if a student withdraws before classes commence. 
 
About NCDRS: The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (in short, ‘the Act’) is a social legislation that lays down the rights of the consumers and was established so as enable consumers to secure less expensive and often speedy redressal of their grievances. By spelling out the rights and remedies of the consumers in a market so far dominated by organised manufacturers and traders of goods and providers of various types of services, the Act makes the dictum, caveat emptor (‘buyer beware’) a thing of the past.
 
Constituted in 1998 the National Commision is headed by Hon’ble Mr. Justice Ashok Bhan, former Judge of the Supreme Court of India as President.
 
Log on to http://ncdrc.nic.in/ for more information.