Transfer certificate can not be withheld over non-payment of fees

Withholding transfer Certificate citing non-payment of outstanding fees

In the wake of Covid-19 outbreak and during Lockdown period, many parents have lost their jobs. The schools have started striking names of children from rolls, in spite of govt’s specific directions to private schools not to take any coercive steps against students in case of non-payment of fee.

Several parents have to transfer their children to government schools but they are being denied the school-leaving certificates without settlement of the accounts i.e. payment of the outstanding fees.

Delhi High court ruled in its Judgment in WP(C) 6658/2019 that schools cannot refuse to give Transfer Certificate (TC) of a student on account of non-payment of school fee.

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The court said that under the Delhi School Education Act, a private school has no authority to refuse to give a transfer certificate to a student for non-payment of dues.

A bench headed by Justice D.N. Patel passed the order in July 2019 after taking cognizance of a letter of two students, who were unable to seek admission in another school as their current school refused to issue them Transfer Certificates citing non-payment of outstanding fees.

Converting the letter into a PIL, the court-appointed Advocate Ashok Agarwal, as amicus curiae, to assist the court. Mr Agarwal argued that under Rule 167 of Delhi School Education Act, 1973, a school could strike off the name of a student from its rolls for non-payment of fees but a private school had no authority to withhold issuance of Transfer Certificate to a student over this issue of outstanding fees.

The court directed the private school to issue Transfer Certificates to the students within a week.

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The copy of Judgement

The Delhi High court Judgment WP(C) 6658/2019

Transfer certificate