SMT. G. VASANTHAKUMARI, PRESIDENT.

            Complainant’s case is that, the complainant is a married lady and 2^nd and 3^rd opp.parties are the Managing Director and Director of the 1^st opp.party, that she happened to go through the advertisement in Malayala Manorama daily that in Kollam City a UGC approved and with the recognition of Dental College, Dental Technician Course is started and she approached the opp.parties who informed that the 1^st opp.party institution is approved and recognized by UGC which is affiliated to Vinayaka Mission University, Salem, that 2^nd and 3^rd opp.parties handed over the prospectus of the first opp.party in which it is mentioned that Dental Technician Course is having lot of employment opportunities with high perk in domestic and foreign countries and so she joined the course on 29.6.05 for the academic  year 2005-2007, remitted Rs.35,000/- as tuition fee, Rs.2,000/- for practical classes and Rs.48,000/- for the study materials, that at the end of the first academic year the institution conducted examination in dental mechanic in the presence of invigilators deputed by Vinayaka Mission University, that at the end of 2^nd academic year also examination  was conducted by the Vinayaka Mission Research Foundation, deemed University , Salem based on the hall ticket issued by them but after receiving the question paper she was shocked to notice that the name of the examination printed in the question paper is that “Diploma in Ceramic Technology” instead of Dental Technology/Dental Mechanic, but the question was related to the syllabus of dental technology and when the complainant brought the said  facts to the notice of the opp.parties they replied as it is a printing mistake but when she received the final mark list it was also for Diploma in Ceramic Technology, that she never appeared for such an examination and the opp.parties with deliberate intention and preparation to cheat the complainant and others acted like that and hence this complaint praying to direct the opp.parties to issue a valuable, UGC recognized certificate of the course for which the complainant got admission with the opp.parties as offered by the opp.parties and in the event the opp.parties are not able to issue the same direct them to pay a compensation of Rs. 5 lakhs to the complainant for the mental agony, waste of two year, scapegoatism, betray, expenses for the study, tuition fee, admission fee etc.

          First opp.party remained exparty to the proceedings. 2^nd and 3^rd opp.party filed joint version contenting that, the complaint is not maintainable either in law or on facts, that the complaint is bad for non joinder of necessary parties and for mis joinder of parties, that opp.parties 2 and 3 have no connection or responsibility and ownership over the first opp.party, that the first opp.party institution is under the management and proprietorship of Dr. K.P. Surjith, Proprietor of M/s. Krishna  Associates an Educational Consultant who maintains many educational institutions in association with the Faculty of Distance Education, Vinayaka Mission’s Research Foundation, Salem,  Tamilnadu a deemed University approved by the University Grants Commission, Government of India, that Dr. K.P. Surjith alone has agreement with the university to conduct the centre in Kerala as without the agreement no one can establish such an institution and can provide the course and can obtain permission  from the university to allow the students to participate in the examination conducting by the University, that the 3^rd opp.party is a Diploma Holder in Dental Mechanic  and is a highly experienced person in this field and he was appointed as the Lab Technician to guide and assist the students of the first opp.party’s institution for the practical classes of their students on attractive perks and the 2^nd opp.party who is also an educated unemployed lady was appointed as the office assistance of the first opp.party by the said Dr.K.P. Surjith, that the duty and responsibility of the 2^nd opp.party is to collect the fee from the students, office management and communication with the University and also to provide payment to the guest lecturers from the fund of the first opp.party, that to the knowledge of the 3^rd opp.party the  Dental Council of India prohibited from issuing certificates in the name of Dental Mechanic as the same seen misused by the holders by practicing as dental surgeons in the remote areas of northern states, that any how the 3^rd opp.party left the employment of the first opp.party from June 2007 onwards as he got the contract with the leading Dental College for the supply of instruments   and moulds, that the students of the 1^st opp.party’s institution after completing their contact classes attended the final examination conducted by the university and also collected their certificate but later the complainant filed a false complaint against the 2^nd and 3^rd opp.party before police alleging that the first opp.party institution is under the management of them and after understanding the actual situation, the police not proceeded with the complaint and thereafter she approached this forum with this complaint, that the opp.parties 2 and 3 had no ownership or authority over the management of the 1^st opp.party institution and they were its employers alone who worked for salary, that the opp.parties 2 and 3 never coerced any  of the students to join the  course and they never had any gain from the students but all was done by the 1^st opp.party alone which was under the ownership of Krishna Associates and prayed to dismiss the complaint with compensatory cost.

Points that would arise for consideration are:

1.     Whether the complaint is bad for non joinder or mis joinder of necessary parties ?

2.     Whether there is any deficiency in service on the part of the opp.parties

3.     Reliefs and costs

For the complainant PWs.1 to 3 were examined and marked Ext.P1 to P8

For the opp.parties  DWs 1 and 2 were examined and marked  X1

THE POINTS:

     This complaint has been filed by the complainant to direct the opp.parties to issue a valuable, UGC recognized certificate of the course for which the complainant got admission with the opp.parties as offered by the opp.parties and in the event the opp.parties are not able to issue the same to direct them to a  pay a compensation of Rs.5 lakhs to the complainant for the mental agony, waste of 2 years, scapegoatism, betray, expenses for the study, tuition fee, admission fee etc.  It is the admitted case of the parties that the university conducted the course has its approval ,examination was also conducted by the university as per the syllabus and that the mark list and certificate were also issued by the University alone so the prayer in the complaint is very important.   The complainant has no case  that the course was not conducted by the first opp.party and that it had no approval from the university to conduct the course  but only allegation is that the name of the course is changed in the certificate  which was issued to her.   To that aspect the first opp.party and university alone are responsible and the paid employees of the first opp.party has no role over the same.   At this juncture it is to be noted that even though the opp.parties 2 and 3 raised such a contention in their version she has not cared to take any steps to implead university as a necessary party and also to verify the genuiness of the contentions raised by opp.parties 2 and 3 that they had no contract or agreement with the university but the only approved agency of the university is the Krishna Associates who is conducting the first opp.party  DW.2 the Director of the University  while in box submitted before the forum that the Krishna Associates is only the approved institution who authorized to conduct the distant education course of the university in Kerala and the students of the first opp.party institution was attended in the examinations conducted by the university based on the said approval and also collected the certificate from the university .  Moreover DW.2 has produced the copy of the agreement of the University with Dr.K.P. Surjith for and on behalf of Krishna Associates and nothing was there connecting opp.party 2 and 3 with the management of the first opp.party or with the university.  Here the simple question to be considered is as to whether a person other than a UGC recognized university has the right to issue a valid certificate or not and whether the employees of an institution has the obligation for compensating the students of an educational institution for the breach of contract  from the part of the management.   The evidence tendered by DW.2 and Ext. X1 makes it clear that the course conducted by the first opp.party institutions in accordance with the syllabus of the university and they allowed the students from the first opp.party to  attend the examinations and issued the certificate due to the reason that they are the students of their approved agency.  Ext. P3 Hall ticket  seen issued by Vinayaka Mission Research Foundation, Deemed University  Salem  To direct the opp.parties to issue a valuable UGC recognized certificate of the course for which the complainant got admission with the opp.party’s , university is a necessary party.  In this case as we have already mentioned even though opp.parties 2 and 3  raised such a contention in their version the complainant has not cared to implead the university in the party array and as such this complaint fails and isonly to be dismissed.

     In the result, the complaint is dismissed but without cost.

Dated this the 4^th day of January, 2013.

I N D E X

List of witnesses for the complainant

PW.1. Jomol Anil

PW.2. – Anil Joseph

PW.3. – Moideen Sha

List of documents for the complainant

P1. – Photocopy of paper cutting

P2. – Attested copy of the prospectus

P3. – Hall ticket

P4. – Question paper

P5. -  Fee receipt

P6. – Photocopy of the certificate issued to another student

P7. – Identity card

P8. – Letter from BSNL dated25.4.2012

List of witnesses for the opp.parties

DW.1. – Anoopkumar

DW.2. – Rajankuryan

X1. - Agreement