Ludhiana: Student gets relief, allowed to sit for exam without advance fee

In a significant relief to a student, the Permanent Lok Adalat, Ludhiana, has directed Guru Nanak Dev Industrial Training Institution to allow him to appear in the first-year examination of the Refrigerator and Air Conditioner (RAC) course scheduled for July 29 without insisting on advance payment of the second-year fee.

The order came from the Bench, comprising chairman Balwinder Singh Sandu and members Anju Garg and Jaswant Singh, while hearing a petition filed by Kuldeep Singh, father of the minor student, Manjit Singh.

During the hearing, it was submitted that the student had paid the complete fee for the first year and was eligible to sit in the exam. However, the institution was pressuring the student to deposit the second-year fee in advance as a condition for issuing the roll number for the first-year exam.

The Lok Adalat observed that such a demand was prima facie unfair and unjust. “We find a prima facie case in favour of the applicant to pass ex parte interim injunction, which is otherwise warranted in all fairness,” the Bench noted in its order.

The court held that the educational institution cannot coerce the student to pay the second-year fee in advance when the full fee for the first year had already been paid, as evidenced by the receipt dated July 18, 2024.

Accordingly, the institution was directed the institution to allow Manjit to appear in the upcoming examination by issuing a provisional roll number to him. However, the result of the examination will remain subject to the final outcome of the ongoing petition, which may be decided through conciliation or adjudication.

A further notice has also been issued to the institution for August 8.