Patiala, Nov. 16 -- The Punjab and Haryana high court has ordered the immediate return of original documents belonging to MBBS students at White Medical College and Hospital (formerly known as Chintpurni Medical College) that were withheld over alleged unpaid dues. In its order delivered on November 12, the court mandated that the college must comply with the directive within seven days. The affected students were transferred from White Medical College and Hospital to other medical colleges in Punjab last year due to infrastructure deficiencies at the institution. The HC passed the order disposing of a petition, filed by students from the 2021-22 and 2022-23 batches, who claimed their original certificates were being unlawfully withheld by their former college after they shifted to other medical colleges across the state. The HC had passed the order on November 12 while the order was uploaded on the court's website on November 14. "White Medical College and Hospital is directed to release/hand over all the original documents of the petitioners and other medical students, forthwith, and in any case, not later than seven days from the date of passing of this order," reads the Punjab and Haryana HC order. The students had earlier been shifted after the National Medical Commission (NMC) found the college lacked adequate infrastructure. The NMC, on January 18, 2024, ordered the transfer of all MBBS students to eight other institutions, including GMC Patiala, GMC Amritsar, DMC Ludhiana, CMC Ludhiana, and others. The college had challenged the transfer in the HC and later in the Supreme Court, but both petitions were dismissed, making the transfer final. Meanwhile, the college refused to return students' documents, citing two months of unpaid fee from the fourth semester. The court, however, junked this justification. It made it clear that the college had no authority to retain students' certificates. "Certificates of a student are his or her individual property," it said. The court further noted that while the college may have financial claims, it must pursue them through appropriate legal channels rather than by holding students' documents "hostage." The court declined to rule on whether the two months' fee was recoverable, stating that the matter involved mixed questions of fact and law. The college was granted liberty to seek recovery through proper legal remedies. The HC's direction brings much-needed relief to hundreds of MBBS students who were unable to complete formalities at their new colleges due to the non-release of their original educational records....