Division bench of Delhi HC refused to stay single bench order allowing private schools to charge annual fees
Jun 07, 2021
By Sushil Batra
New Delhi [India], June 7 : A Division Bench of Delhi High Court on Monday issued notice on a batch of appeals including Delhi government challenging single-judge order allowing private unaided recognised schools to collect annual and development charges from students for the period after the lockdown lifted in the city.
Meanwhile, Division Bench of Justice Rekha Palli and Delhi HC refused to stay on the single judge bench order and fixed the matter for July 12 for further hearing.
Senior Advocate Vikas Singh appearing for the Delhi government (Directorate of Education) argued that the single bench judge order will over burden the parents. According to the calculation, 60 percent of tuition fees charged by the school is enough for the teachers' salaries and other expenses.
Senior Advocate Shyam Divan represented the action committee unaided recognised private schools.
Delhi government and various others have filed an appeal against single-judge order allowing private unaided recognised schools to collect annual and development charges from students for the period after the lockdown lifted in the city.
The single judge has recently quashed two office orders of April and August 2020 issued by the Directorate of Education of the Delhi government forbidding and postponing the collection of annual charges and development fees.
Single-Judge Bench has said that the Delhi government has no power to indefinitely postpone the collection of annual charges and development fees by private unaided schools.
The Delhi government has submitted that decision was taken in larger public interest keeping aspects of the financial crisis being faced by people due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Action Committee Unaided Recognized Private Schools, which represents 450 private unaided schools, has challenged Delhi government notifications before the single-judge bench.
The organisation had challenged the two office orders of April and August last year of the DoE on grounds that they curtail the rights of the private unaided recognised schools to fix their own fees.
