This story is from June 11, 2019

Chandigarh: 11 more students get security deposit

Eleven more former dental students got relief in Gian Sagar case, after authorities refunded their hostel security fees on Monday. These students had approached the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum to lodge their grievances.
Chandigarh: 11 more students get security deposit
Representative image
CHANDIGARH: Eleven more former dental students got relief in Gian Sagar case, after authorities refunded their hostel security fees on Monday. These students had approached the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum to lodge their grievances. Earlier, on April 29, Gian Sagar authorities had refunded hostel security amount to 29 former students, now doctors.
They were given approximately Rs 10 lakh, the security amount paid by these students at the time of giving admission fees.
While Rs 4.40 lakh was refunded to the students on Monday, five new cases were also filed on the same day.
It was first on February 14 when 22 former students approached the district consumer forum seeking security refund. On March 3, eight more students approached forum seeking refund of security fees ranging between Rs 40,000 and Rs 45,000 for each student. Besides these cases, 40 are still pending before the consumer forum. They are due for hearing on June 10. Now in addition, 120 more cases have been submitted in the forum.
"Till date, around 210 cases have been filed against the institute in which notices have already been issued. Out of these, on May 22 notices were issued on the basis of 120 independent complaints and on May 23, notices were issued in 30 more cases. Refund has been given only in 40 cases, including the 11 cases in which money was refunded on Monday," said Pradhyuman Garg, counsel for the complainants. He added that he hopes that the institute would be served with notice in relation to the five new cases on June 12, which is the next date of hearing.
The security money was charged for college/library (Rs 15,000) and hostel (Rs 25,000) at the time of admission in MBBS course in 2014. The students had taken admission through centralized counselling held by Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot, but were later shifted to different colleges of Punjab in 2017 after the college was shut down in June 2017 owing to a financial crisis.
The complainants had then requested for release of the outstanding security amount, which was refundable, as reflected in the receipts issued at the time of depositing the amount, but the college authorities allegedly delayed the process on one pretext or the other.
Pardhuman Garg had demanded refund of the security, along with 18% interest, from the date of deposit till realization and directions to pay a sum of Rs 25,000 as litigation expenses and Rs 25,000 for causing inconvenience, mental harassment and mental agony. However, since the college paid the money on second hearing, they were allowed to pay only the security amount.
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