Pvt dental college to refund fee to Iranian students: HC

In a direction by the Madras High Court, a private dental college was instructed to refund the full fees paid by Iranian students, whose admissions were canceled as the college had enrolled hem without the mandatory NEET qualification.

The Asan Memorial Dental College and Hospital was ordered by Justice P N Prakash to return all the demand drafts to the Consul General of Islamic Republic of Iran Mohammed Haghbin Ghoni, who was looking after the student concern in court.

The Judge also gave directions to Consul General Haghbin Ghoni to ensure that the sum returned reached the parents of the students, who were in touch with him.The judge has posted the matter for hearing on June 11.

The court was responding to a petition filed by an Iranian student, Naseer Hamidavi Zegheiri, seeking vacation of stay on the FIR registered against the college by him, regarding non-refund of the fees paid by him, on cancellation of admission.

The petitioner alleged that despite knowing that NEET was mandatory for admission to the college, it had gone ahead and admitted students who had not qualified NEET.

The petitioner further submitted to the court that the MGR Medical University, to which the college was affiliated, had now been instructed to discharge all foreign national candidates admitted to the BDS course without a NEET qualification.

During the proceedings of the case, the court was informed that there were 14 other students who had also been admitted by the college without the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) qualification reported money control.

Assistant Solicitor General, Karthikeyan, representing the Centre, made a submission that the Union of India would extend all help to the Iranian students in the retrieval of their money.

A list of the those who had paid the fee was handed over to the court by him.

Meanwhile, the Asan Memorial Dental College counsel gave an undertaking to the court that all the students who had a payment to the institution towards fee would receive a refund.

The Counsel of the college made a noting that of the total Rs 53.40 lakh fees paid by Zegheiri, Rs 5.50 lakhs is to be considered as paid back to him as the petitioner in this case Naseer Hamidavi Zegheiri had been given this sum in the court already. The balance claimed the college counsel would be paid through a DD on June 11 or even before.

In an earlier story reported by the Medical Dialogues team, it was stated that An Iranian student, who was admitted to a dental college without the mandatory NEET qualification and subsequently removed from the institution, got an interim relief with the management handing over Rs 5.5 lakh paid towards tuition fee, in the Madras High Court today.

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