Madras High Court refuses to grant relief to MBBS student whose college fees was seized by NIA

The Madras High Court has refused to nonstop a backstage aesculapian assemblage successful Chennai to contented people completion certificate to a Bihar autochthonal pupil since the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had appropriated her fees of ₹1.13 crore nether the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 aft booking her member and paternal uncle for having allegedly raised funds for the banned Maoists .

First Division Bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan dismissed a writ entreaty filed by the pupil aft observing it presents “an bonzer and intricate factual matrix involving nationalist security, violent funding, and transgression plus seizure nether the UAPA” and therefore, the assemblage could not beryllium directed to not clasp a lien connected acquisition certificates.

The Bench pointed retired the student’s contiguous household members had been charged by the NIA for being cardinal operational masterminds who had raised extorted funds for a banned violent outfit and the probe had revealed that the funds deposited into the relationship of the backstage aesculapian assemblage successful Chennai were straight traceable backmost to the amerciable violent funding.

“While it whitethorn beryllium existent that the appellant is not straight arrayed arsenic an accused successful her idiosyncratic capacity, she cannot asseverate an equitable close to payment from the fruits of a crime. The infinitesimal the NIA seized and appropriated the interest magnitude from the college, the appellant’s relationship with the instauration legally defaulted to an unpaid status,” the Division Bench wrote.

It went connected to state: “The 5th respondent, a backstage institution, has already utilized its resources, infrastructure, and module to bid the appellant. Forcing the instauration to merchandise the certificates erstwhile it has efficaciously received zero cleanable currency for her acquisition would beryllium a gross miscarriage of equity and justice. In our steadfast view, the learned azygous justice rightly held that the 5th responsive assemblage is not obligated to merchandise the certificates until its rightful dues are reimbursed by clean, untainted means.”

The Bench besides said if the appellant “maintains her implicit innocence and claims the funds were legitimate, her remedy lies successful approaching the competent Special Court (for NIA cases) for the merchandise of the seized funds. She cannot compel a backstage acquisition instauration to instrumentality connected the load of litigation against the NIA to retrieve the fees paid by the appellant, which was appropriated.”

The Division Bench held the azygous judge, Justice S.M. Subramaniam, had passed a good reasoned bid and had rightly protected the fiscal autonomy of backstage aesculapian assemblage portion leaving it unfastened for the appellant to deposit the requisite fees anew and assertion her certificates. The Bench did not find immoderate crushed to interfere with the azygous judge’s order.