Chennai: The Madras High Court has declined to direct the issuance of a course completion certificate to a medical student whose fee payment was frozen by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) after being identified as proceeds of crime linked to a Maoist organization. According to the NIA, the fee of Rs 1.13 crore paid 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.
Appeal Challenged Single Judge Order
After a single judge of the court refused to entertain her plea, she filed the present appeal challenging that order. Refusing any relief, the first bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan observed that the case presents an extraordinary and intricate factual matrix involving national security, terrorist funding, and criminal asset seizure under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Family Members Named as Accused
The chargesheet submitted by the NIA specifically lists 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.
“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 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.
No Clean Currency Received
The judges asserted that the college has already utilized its resources, infrastructure, and faculty to train the appellant. Forcing the institution to release the certificates when it has effectively received zero clean currency for her education would be a gross miscarriage of equity and justice.
“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 NIA. She cannot compel a private educational institution to take on the burden of litigation against NIA to retrieve the fees paid by her, which was appropriated,” the court said and dismissed her appeal.
