Appeal dismissed, Chandigarh school to refund provisional admission fee

Ramkrishan Upadhyay

Chandigarh, April 1

Till the admission is not regularised, the deposit of provisional amount is merely a monetary transaction which has not fructified into any binding contract.

While observing this, State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Chandigarh, dismissed an appeal filed by the Principal, St Anee’s Convent School, Sector 32-C here. The school had challenged an order issued by the district commission on June 1 last year, vide which it was directed to refund Rs 22,500 (after deducting 10% of the fees towards administrative charges/service charges) to the complainant.

The district commission had passed the order on a complaint filed by Sandeep Kaur of Mohali. The complainant had stated that her daughter got provisional admission to class 11 (medical stream) in the school on the basis of the pre-Board result of class 10 on May 16, 2020, by paying Rs 25,000. Later, she preferred to admit her child in a school situated in Mohali. She requested the Chandigarh school to refund the admission/tuition fees of Rs 25,000. The school, however, rejected her request, stating that admission fee was non-refundable.

The district commission partly allowed her complaint and ordered the refund of the fees.

Aggrieved over the order, the school filed an appeal in the state commission. The grounds taken by the appellant was that the lower commission failed to appreciate the fact that the school was an educational institute and the complainant did not fall within the definition of consumer. As such, the lower commission had no jurisdiction to entertain and decide the complaint. It was further contended that the lower commission ignored the document wherein it was specifically mentioned that ‘fees once paid are not refundable’.

On the other hand, it was contended on behalf of the complainant that the order passed by the lower commission was just and fair.

After hearing the arguments, the commission stated that the lower commission rightly ordered the refund of the admission fee after deducting 10% as administrative charges/service charges, etc.