Can i quit college after first year of joining without paying full fee

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The Madurai bench of the Madras high court has ruled that it is not illegal for a self-financing college to collect fees for the remaining years, in case a student leaves the course mid way. Justice K Ravichandra Baabu gave the ruling while dismissing a petition filed by a student seeking a refund for the amount she paid to a college on leaving the course.
Pointing out that a self-financing institution depended on the fees collected from its students, Justice K Ravichandra Baabu said, "Once a student leaves in the middle of a course, the college is not in a position to admit any student and consequently, it will undoubtedly lose the revenue. In order to compensate such a loss, they have to collect the fees for the remaining years from those students who decide to leave the college mid way through the course.
The petitioner, R Gowthami had received admission to the Mepco Schlenk Engineering College, Sivakasi, for the B E (Electrical and Electronic Engineering) course during the academic year 2007-2008. While she was pursuing her second year, she got selected for the M.B.B.S. course in the counseling conducted by the Directorate of Tamil Nadu Medical Education. Hence, she approached the principal of the college and requested for her Transfer Certificate to be issued, so as to enable her to join the MBBS course. But the college demanded fees towards the third and fourth years of her course as well for issuing the same. The student having left with no other option had to paid a sum of Rs1,06,000 towards the course fees of the remaining years.
However, on verification from the Directorate of Technical Education under the Right to Information Act, the petitioner came to know that the college is not entitled to demand fees for the remaining years, after a student discontinues the course. Therefore, she made a request to the college to refund the fees. As there was no response from the college, she filed the present writ petition.
The college submitted that it is a self financing institution and it could operate only from the tuition fees collected from students. If any student leaves the institution in the middle of the course, that seat is rendered vacant which adversely affects the financial position of the college.
Dismissing the petition filed by the student, Justice K Ravichandra Baabu said that by leaving the college in the middle of the course, the student had prevented another person's chance of getting admission into the B E course and also made the college suffer a loss.
Upholding the action of the college, the judge said that the college was right in collecting the fees from the petitioner in respect of the third and fourth year and consequently, there is no illegality in such an action. The judge further pointed out that the petitioner left the college after obtaining a Transfer Certificate, by paying the fees towards the remaining years, "without any protest".

Advocate Siddhant Sharma LawRato