Medak Commission Orders Taxila Business School To Refund Rs 50k And Pay Rs 15k In Compensation

Brief Facts:

D.N. Srikanth Verma (“Complainant”) had enrolled in Taxila Business School for a Post-Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) course by paying an admission fee of Rs. 50,000 on February 18, 2021. However, due to an unforeseen major knee surgery, the complainant was unable to join the college within the stipulated time frame. As a result, he opted to cancel his admission and sought a refund of the admission fee on March 8, 2021.

Despite promptly providing his bank account details on August 14, 2021, as requested by the college management for the refund process, Taxila Business School failed to refund the admission fee. The complainant’s attempts to communicate with the management through calls and messages were met with silence, prompting him to file a consumer complaint in the Medak District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (“District Commission”).

Taxila Business School did not contest the case and remained absent throughout the proceedings. Despite receiving notice from the District Commission, the college management chose not to present their side of the story or offer any defence against the complainant's claims.

Observations by the Commission:

The District Commission noted that the complainant had paid an admission fee of Rs. 50,000 to Taxila Business School on February 18, 2021, for enrollment in a PGDM course. However, due to a major knee surgery, he could not join the college within the stipulated time frame. Despite cancelling his admission and requesting a refund on March 8, 2021, the college management did not refund the fee. The college management's failure to respond adequately and provide unrelated reasons during communications indicated a lack of commitment to resolving the issue, the District Commission noted.

Further, the District Commission observed that Taxila Business School intentionally avoided refunding the admission fee since 2021. The complainant's repeated attempts to communicate were met with false promises and misleading statements from the management. This, according to the District Commission, displayed gross negligence and irresponsible conduct on the part of the management, causing significant inconvenience, hardship, and mental agony to the complainant, in addition to financial loss.

As a result, the District Commission ordered Taxila Business School to refund the admission fee of Rs. 50,000 along with 12% interest from the date of cancellation till realization. Additionally, the it was instructed to pay Rs. 10,000 as compensation for the mental distress caused to the student, and Rs. 5,000 as costs for the litigation.

Case: D.N. Srikanth Verma vs Taxila Business School

Case No.: CC.No.27 of 2023