In a landmark judgment that brings significant relief to medical students, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered White Medical College and Hospital in Mohali to immediately return all original academic documents to MBBS students who were transferred from the institution. The court firmly stated that educational institutions have no legal authority to withhold student certificates over fee disputes.
Court's Strong Stance on Document Retention
Justice Kuldeep Tiwari, in his November 12 order for the case Sukhmanpreet Singh Cheema and Others vs Union of India and Others (CWP-8900-2025), made it unequivocally clear that the college possesses "no legal right to retain the original certificates" of the petitioners or any other medical students. The judge emphasized that such retention causes "serious prejudice and inconvenience" to students pursuing their medical education.
The court specifically challenged the college to identify "under which authority or rule, it has power to retain the original documents" of the students. When the institution failed to cite any legal provision supporting their actions, the court found their position legally untenable.
Background of the Student Transfer Case
The legal battle traces back to students from the 2021-22 and 2022-23 MBBS batches who had initially joined White Medical College but sought transfers due to what they described as a "lack of adequate infrastructure." This led to earlier litigation in 2023, culminating in the National Medical Commission (NMC) ordering on January 18, 2024 the transfer of all students from the college to eight other recognized institutions across Punjab.
White Medical College attempted to challenge the NMC's transfer order, first approaching the high court and later the Supreme Court. However, both courts dismissed the college's plea, with Justice Tiwari noting that the transfer issue "has attained finality."
Fee Dispute and Double Payment Argument
Despite the finalized transfers, the college refused to release students' original documents, citing unpaid fees for two months of their fourth semester. The institution claimed it had paid faculty salaries during that period and therefore had the right to recover dues. They also referenced a condition in a Baba Farid University notice requiring students to clear outstanding dues before transfer.
The students presented a compelling counter-argument: after being relocated in October 2024, they had to pay the full semester fee again at their new colleges. Making them pay White Medical College for the same period amounted to double payment caused entirely by the college's infrastructure deficiencies.
Legal Precedent and Final Ruling
Justice Tiwari relied on a 2022 Division Bench ruling in Monika vs Pt B.D. Sharma University of Health Sciences, which established that a student's certificates are "his/her individual property" and that "adopting the method of retaining original certificates/documents is unfair to say the least."
While acknowledging the college's right to pursue lawful dues through appropriate legal proceedings, the court clarified that withholding certificates was not an acceptable method of recovery. The judge granted the college liberty to pursue any legal remedy available for fee recovery but emphasized this must not involve retaining student documents.
In a categorical directive, the court ordered the college to hand over all original documents "forthwith, and in any case, not later than seven days from the date of passing of this order." The petition was subsequently disposed of, bringing closure to the students' prolonged struggle to reclaim their academic documents.
