Amendment To Prospectus When Admission Process Is Underway Created Unfortunate Situation: SC Directs Forfeiture Of Security Fee For Resigning From MD Seat
The Supreme Court has directed the forfeiture of the security fee paid by a candidate resigning from a ‘prestigious seat’ in M.D. (Endocrinology) from the Christian Medical College (CMC), a “highly reputed institution.”
The Court modified the order of the Division Bench of the Madras High Court which had dismissed the Appeal filed by the Candidate (Appellant) challenging the invocation of a clause in the bond signed by him wherein he was asked to pay a penalty of Rs.30 Lacs by the college, or else, his documents would not be released. The Bench noted, “The amendment to the prospectus when the process of admission was underway has created an unfortunate situation like the present one.”
The Appeal arose from the Appellant’s resignation from an M.D. (Endocrinology) seat allocated to him in the academic year 2022-2023. The Appellant was aggrieved by the imposition of a penalty of Rs. 30 lakhs by the CMC upon his resignation and the withholding of his documents.
The Bench of Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice K.V. Viswanathan found, “we find that the appellant is also guilty of contributory negligence. However, taking into consideration the facts and circumstances of the case, we find that instead of paying additional penalty of Rs.30 Lacs, the forfeiture of the amount of Rs.4,06,749.60 already deposited by the appellant.”
Senior Advocate S Nagamuthu represented the Appellant, while Senior Advocate Krishna Srinivasan and ASG Aishwarya Bhati appeared for the Respondents.
The Appellant was allotted a seat in Round 1 of counselling, which he joined. As per the original prospectus available at the time, candidates not upgraded in Round 2 were permitted to resign from the Round 1 seat within two days of the announcement of Round 2 results.
The Appellant, upon receiving no upgradation in Round 2, submitted his resignation. However, an amended version of the prospectus issued omitted the clause permitting resignation for non-upgraded candidates, leading to confusion. The college invoked the bond clause to demand Rs.30 lakhs as a penalty for resignation.
Aggrieved, the Appellant approached the Madras High Court, but his petition was dismissed by both the Single Judge and the Division Bench.
While acknowledging the Appellant’s contributory negligence in not verifying the amended prospectus, the Supreme Court stated that the “unfortunate situation” was created by the amendment to the prospectus when the process of admission was underway. However, the Bench also clarified that since “the entire blame” would not be on the Appellant, “the appellant would be liable to pay a penalty of Rs.4,06,749.60, which has already been deposited.”
“It is clear from the communications placed on record that the respondents/Authorities were at least aware about the appellant’s resignation on 30th April 2022. It is not in dispute that even after that date in the peculiar facts and circumstances on account of covid situation, Respondent Nos.1 to 3 had filled in unfilled posts in the mop-up round. Had the respondent Nos.1 to 3 acted diligently, the seat which lapsed could have been filled by a meritorious student. We find that on account of the casual approach of Respondent Nos.1 to 3, one precious seat in one of the most reputed colleges in the country, i.e. Respondent No.4/College has gone waste,” the Bench noted.
Consequently, noting that the College was also not interested in keeping the penalty, the Court directed that “the College will donate the said amount of Rs.4,06,749.60 to the Missionaries of Charity, Kolkata.”
Accordingly, the Supreme Court disposed of the Appeal.
Cause Title: S. Gunasekaran v. The Under Secretary To Govt. & Ors. (Neutral Citation: 2024 INSC 1018)
Appearance:
Appellant: Senior Advocate S Nagamuthu; AOR Anjani Kumar Mishra; Advocates Hardeep Kaur Mishra, Praveen Mishra and Krishna Gopal Mishra
Respondents: Senior Advocate Krishna Srinivasan; ASG Aishwarya Bhati; Advocates Rajat Nair, Rajan Kr.chourasia, Chitrangda Rastravara, Jagdish Chandra Solanki, Manisha Chava, E.R. Kumar, Geeti Ara, Sonal Gupta, Swati Bhardwaj and Aditi; AOR Amrish Kumar