Certificate Retention Deemed Legally Invalid

Rapid Summary

• The State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has directed the Chief Secretary to issue binding orders to prohibit higher educational institutions in the state from coercively retaining students’ original academic certificates.
• This directive follows a complaint by vangala Sruthi, a former student of KLR College of Pharmacy, Palvancha, who alleged that her certificates were illegally retained after withdrawing from her course.
• Sruthi reportedly withdrew due to incidents of ragging and mental distress at the college and was later asked to pay ₹3 lakh for reclaiming her documents.
• The SHRC stated that such practices violate Article 21 of the Constitution and are against University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines on student rights.
• It recommended that the college return Sruthi’s documents without collecting fees and ordered an action-taken report from the Chief Secretary within one month.

Indian opinion Analysis
The SHRC’s intervention underscores critical issues surrounding students’ rights in educational institutions.Coercive retention of academic certificates is legally impermissible under constitutional protections like article 21, which guarantees the right to life and personal liberty. Additionally, such actions contravene established UGC guidelines designed to safeguard students from exploitative practices.

The allegations connected wiht ragging reveal broader problems regarding campus safety-an issue requiring systemic vigilance beyond individual cases like this one.By mandating institutional accountability through directives for action reports, government authorities could institute precedents ensuring stricter compliance with legal frameworks while deterring exploitative behavior in schools across India.

Read more: https://indianopinion.com/articleId69858753