Supreme Court Issues Notice Over Withholding of MBBS Degree After NIA Seizes Student's Fees

The Supreme Court has issued notice to the Centre and a medical college on a plea by an MBBS graduate challenging the withholding of her degree and course completion certificates after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) seized the fees she had paid. A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta heard the plea in Pooja Kumari vs Union of India. The student was admitted to Chettinad Academy of Research and Education in 2017 and paid around Rs 1.13 crore in fees through banking channels before completing her MBBS and compulsory internship. The NIA later seized the amount during a UAPA investigation involving some of her relatives.

The college subsequently demanded that she pay the fees again before releasing her final degree, provisional certificate and course completion certificate. The student challenged the decision before the Madras High Court, but both a single judge in 2024 and a division bench in June 2026 rejected her plea. She argued before the Supreme Court that she was not an accused and should not bear the consequences of proceedings against her relatives. The apex court has now sought responses from the Centre and the college, according to a Bar and Bench report.