Telangana High Court: While hearing a writ petition seeking declaration of the actions of the Respondents in withholding the original certificates of the petitioner’s daughter as violative of Articles 14, 19, 21 and 21A of the Constitution, the Single Judge Bench of Surepalli Nanda, J, held that the Board of Intermediate and Higher Education had no lien on the certificates of the students and as such could not withhold them.
Accordingly, the Court directed the respondents to issue the original certificates of the petitioner’s daughter, including the consolidated memo of marks.
Background
The petitioner’s daughter was a student at Alphores Girls Junior College which was run by Respondents 4 and 5. The petitioner had paid all the fees for academic years 2023-2025 along with tuition, books, dresses and other charges along with a refundable caution deposit. Despite this, Respondents 4 and 5 had demanded an additional amount of Rs. 75000 for issuing the long memo, bona fide certificate and transfer certificate and had sent an undated, unsigned handwritten demand though registered post.
Since the petitioner’s daughter required these documents to participate in ongoing counseling and admission processes for higher education, the petitioner had submitted a complaint to the Board of Intermediate and the Higher Education Department (‘Board’).
In the instant writ petition, the petitioner averred that the conduct of Respondents 4 and 5 in withholding the certificates despite full payment and the inaction of Respondents 1,2 and 3 violates the fundamental rights of the petitioner’s daughter under Articles 14, 19, 21 and 21-A of the Constitution, thereby risking the loss of an academic year.
Analysis, Law and Decision
The Court referred to the case of R. Pradeep Raj v. Commissioner, Directorate of Technical Education, 2019 SCC OnLine Mad 9385, wherein the Madras High Court had directed the concerned authorities to return the certificates. The Court opined that Respondent 5 cannot withhold the petitioner’s original certificates under any pretext. There is no lien on the certificate of the students since the certificate of the student is his/her property. The Court further opined that the right of students to obtain their certificates from one institution to join another institution cannot be denied by the concerned authorities merely because the tuition fee is due and if any amount is due from the petitioners towards such fees, the proper course available to the respondents is to initiate appropriate proceedings against the petitioners for recovery before the competent Court. The Court also stated that Respondent 5 had no jurisdiction to withhold the consolidated marks memo (long memo) on the grounds of non-payment of fee and as such cannot resort to coercive tactics to extract money.
Accordingly, the Court directed Respondent 5 to issue original certificates of the petitioner’s daughter, i.e., the Intermediate consolidate marks memo (long memo) within one week from date of the order.
[P.V. Amarender Reddy v. The Principal Secretary, High Education, W.P. No. 18393 of 2025, decided on 4-12-2025]
Advocates who appeared in this case:
For the Petitioner: Sankalp Pissay, Advocate
For the Respondent: M. Phanindra Bhargav, Advocate
Buy Constitution of India HERE
