Madras High Court Denies MBBS Graduate Degree Release Over Terror Funding Link

The Madras High Court has dismissed an appeal by an MBBS graduate seeking release of her degree, which was withheld after fees were frozen during a terror funding investigation. The court ruled that although the graduate, Puja Kumari, is not an accused, she cannot claim the right to benefit from funds allegedly linked to criminal activity.

In a judgment delivered on June 17, a Division Bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan upheld a single judge's order. The college had withheld Kumari's certificates citing non-payment of fees, as the fee amount had been seized by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA). The NIA alleges that the fees were paid from extortion funds raised for the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) in Jharkhand and Bihar.

Kumari argued that she was not a suspect in the case and that educational certificates cannot be withheld as security for unpaid dues, citing judicial precedents. However, the court observed that the case involved national security and terrorist funding, and that the money paid for her education was allegedly traceable to proceeds of crime.

The case originates from an NIA investigation in 2021 into a conspiracy to revive the CPI (Maoist) by raising funds through extortion. Kumari's brother, Tarun Kumar, and paternal uncle were named as key accused. The NIA alleged that a substantial part of the extorted money funded Kumari's medical education at Chettinad Academy of Research and Education, Chennai.

Kumari's lawyer, Ujjwal K Priyadarshi, argued that the money was used for education, not terrorist activity, and that the classification as 'proceeds of terrorism' would be decided during trial. He noted that the fee seizure prevented Kumari from obtaining her degree and pursuing postgraduate studies.

The court refused to direct release of certificates, stating that Kumari cannot assert an equitable right to benefit from the fruits of a crime. The judgment highlights the legal challenges faced by third parties in anti-terror investigations.