The Delhi High Court on Wednesday stayed an interim hike in fees by private unaided schools in the Capital on a petition by Department of Education (DoE), Delhi government.
The DoE has challenged the March 15 order of the single judge Bench of the High Court quashing an April 2018 circular which had prohibited private unaided schools functioning on government land from hiking tuition amounts without its approval.
The department argued that the single judge Bench quashed the 2018 circular without going into and deciding its legality. “Instead [the Single Judge Bench] has only looked into the validity and correctness of provision of October 17, 2017 circular, permitting fee hike,” which, the DoE said, “is a fundamental flaw committed by the Single Judge [Bench]”.
No prior approval
The DoE said the court had erred in holding that no prior approval of the department was required in case of interim fee hike as the same was not an act of fee increase by the school, but a dispensation by the department itself.
“The Single Judge failed to appreciate the interim fee hike as contemplated in the circular of October 17, 2017, could not have obviated the mandatory requirement of prior approval in DDA land clause cases, even though, the same was a dispensation by the DoE as the said dispensation was merely an interim measure subject to detailed scrutiny and prior approval of the DoE once the accounts of the schools have been scrutinised,” the Delhi government said in its appeal.
The plea said that the single judge Bench failed to appreciate that the said hike, even though interim, was nevertheless a case of increase in fee, which was clearly prohibited in terms of the mandate of the Supreme Court in Modern School case.
Acting on the DoE’s plea, a Bench of Justice S. Muralidhar and Justice I.S. Mehta also issued notice and sought response of Action Committee Unaided Recognised Private Schools, in which a number of private schools are members.
The High Court said that till April 8, the next date of hearing, none of the ‘land clause’ schools will proceed to collect the interim hiked fee.