Telangana HC Directs Malla Reddy College To Return the Certificates to the Student

Hyderabad: Holding that educational institutions had no legal authority to retain a student's original academic certificates for recovery of unpaid fees, the Telangana High Court has directed Malla Reddy Engineering College at Dhulapally to return all original certificates of a BTech graduate within a week.

Justice Juvvadi Sridevi was allowing a writ petition filed by E. Charan Tej, who alleged that the college had refused to return his original academic documents after completion of his BTech course, insisting that he first pay Rs 3.09 lakh towards tuition fees allegedly pending due to non-release of the government's fee reimbursement.

The petitioner said he sought the return of the certificates as he required them to pursue an MTech programme. The college allegedly refused to release the documents unless the outstanding amount was paid.

During the hearing, despite service of notice, the college did not appear before the court. Emphasising that original academic certificates were the exclusive property of the student, Justice Sridevi held that, in the absence of any statutory authority, the college had no legal right to retain them.

The court ruled that even if the institution had a genuine monetary claim against the student, its remedy lay in initiating appropriate legal proceedings for recovery of the alleged dues. It could not withhold original certificates as security for payment.

HC issued Notices in a contempt case related to Media Accreditation cards

The Telangana High Court has issued notices to the Chief Secretary, principal secretary (GAD), special commissioner of information of public relations department and chairman of the State Media Academy in a contempt case over non-compliance with the court's order relating to the extension of media accreditation cards.

The contempt case was filed by the Telangana Urdu Working Journalists Federation, represented by its general secretary Syed Ghouse Mohiuddin. The federation has alleged that, despite the undertaking given by the special government pleader before the High Court to issue a circular extending the validity of the accreditation cards, the circular was never issued.

Telangana High Court orders probe into Malakpet police torture allegations

The Telangana High Court has directed the city police commissioner to examine allegations of illegal detention and custodial torture brought against officers attached to the Malakpet police station.

The directions came during the hearing of a writ petition filed by goldsmith P. Srikanth, alleging that he was unlawfully picked up by the police from his workplace around 7 pm on July 17 without being informed of the grounds for his arrest.

K. Ajith Reddy, counsel for the petitioner, argued that Srikanth was subjected to custodial violence and was being coerced into confessing to an offence, as well as pressured to withdraw his pending writ petition.

The petitioner was formally remanded on July 18 exceeding the statutory 24-hour detention limit, counsel added. Seeking departmental proceedings against the erring officers and suitable monetary compensation, counsel submitted that a formal representation detailing the high-handedness had been dispatched via registered post to the DGP and the police commissioner on July 21.

Justice Madhavi Devi of the Telangana High Court issued specific directions to ensure a transparent inquiry. Observing that the representation had been properly served on the DGP and forwarded to the police commissioner, the court ordered the police commissioner to decide upon the representation after conducting a comprehensive review of the CCTV footage of the Malakpet police station covering the period from 6.30 pm on July 17 to 6.30 pm on July 18.

Furthermore, the court mandated that the medical reports and photographs depicting the injuries sustained by the petitioner, as annexed to the writ petition, must be considered before arriving at a final determination. The court held that if the inquiry and video evidence established the involvement of the police personnel in illegal detention or custodial torture, the commissioner shall initiate an appropriate departmental proceedings against them.

Reconsider tax exemption for disabled woman, HC tells transport department

The Telangana High Court has directed the state transport department to reconsider the claim of a woman with disabilities seeking exemption from payment of lifetime motor vehicle tax under the Divyangjan category. The court made it clear that instead of confining their examination to existing provisions in giving relief to handicapped persons, the authorities must consider the objectives of Centre’s guidelines and the rights guaranteed under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.

Justice Nagesh Bheemapaka, while disposing of a contempt case filed by Dr Naima Fathima, refrained from initiating punitive action against senior transport department officials for alleged violation of the court's interim order. The court left the issue of contempt open, warning that action could follow if the authorities were found to have consciously failed to implement its directions after a fresh consideration.

In the petition filed by Dr Fathima seeking exemption of life tax for registration of her vehicle under the Divyangjan category and extending of applicable benefits, the High Court in January last year had directed the transport authorities to consider the petitioner's request.

Transport authorities rejected her claim on the ground that her vehicle was neither an adapted vehicle nor an automatic transmission vehicle eligible under the existing government orders. She contended that the authorities had deliberately failed to implement the court's order and filed the present contempt petition,

During hearing of the contempt case, the transport department submitted that it was ready to permit the registration of the vehicle under the Divyangjan ownership category. However, they maintained that exemption from motor vehicle tax could not be granted because the statutory notifications issued by the state government limited such benefits to adapted vehicles or automatic transmission vehicles driven exclusively by eligible persons with specified disabilities.

The court observed that the authorities had substantially restricted their inquiry to the applicability of GO Ms. No. 351 of 1978 and GO Ms. No.12 of 2022. It noted that the interim order required a broader examination of the petitioner's grievance in light of the Union ministry of road transport and highways' guidelines dated February 3, 2023, and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.

The court directed the competent authority to undertake a fresh examination of the petitioner's representation uninfluenced by the earlier memo that rejected her request. It ordered the authorities to consider all relevant statutory provisions, Central notifications, GOs and the provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act before passing a fresh, reasoned order after affording the petitioner an opportunity of hearing.