The Madras High Court has declined to direct the issuance of a course completion certificate to a medical student whose tuition fee was frozen by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) as proceeds of crime linked to a Maoist organization.
Background of the Case
According to the NIA, the fee of Rs 1.13 crore payable by Puja Kumari, a resident of Bihar, for her MBBS course at Chettinad Academy of Research and Education in Chennai was directly derived from illegal funds extorted on behalf of the Communist Party of India (Maoist), a proscribed terrorist organization. A single judge of the court had earlier refused to entertain her plea, prompting her to file the present appeal.
Court's Observations
Refusing any relief to the student, the first bench comprising Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan stated, “...the case at hand presents an extraordinary and intricate factual matrix involving national security, terrorist funding, and criminal asset seizure under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.”
The charge-sheet submitted by the NIA specifically identifies the appellant's immediate family members, namely her brother Tarun Kumar (A-1) and her paternal uncle Pradyuman Sharma (A-2), as key operational masterminds who raised extorted funds for a banned terrorist outfit. The investigation established that the funds transferred into the college's bank account for her education were directly traceable to these illegal terrorist funding sources, the court noted.
Legal Reasoning
“While it may be true that the appellant is not directly arrayed as an accused in her individual capacity; she cannot assert an equitable right to benefit from the fruits of a crime. The moment the NIA seized and appropriated the fee amount from the college, the appellant’s account with the institution legally defaulted to an unpaid status,” the bench added.
The judges asserted that the college had already utilized its resources, infrastructure, and faculty to train the appellant. Forcing the institution to release the certificates when it had effectively received zero clean currency for her education would be a gross miscarriage of equity and justice.
Remedy Available
“If she maintains her absolute innocence and claims the funds were legitimate, her remedy lies in approaching the competent special court for the release of the seized funds from the NIA. She cannot compel a private educational institution to take on the burden of litigation against the NIA to retrieve the fees paid by her, which was appropriated,” the court stated and dismissed her appeal.
