Gujarat high court stays intake at preschool inside society

AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat high court has stayed a preschool from admitting kids for the next academic year, 2020-21, after the housing society, where the school is located, took exception to the “commercial activity”.
The case involves a chain of preschool facilities, Lampros Kids, which has a branch situated at Jivan Prakash Co-operative Housing Society Ltd in Navrangpura area. The residents of the housing society raised objection to the preschool run in the residential area. They approached the board of nominee demanding that the preschool facility should be shut because it is a commercial use of property. They argued that carrying out any commercial activity in the society without permission of the society is against the provisions of cooperative laws.
The board of nominee ordered a status quo, but the residents were not satisfied with the order and approached the high court. A single-judge bench’s direction to the board of nominee to take decision on the dispute within six months also did not pacify them. They filed an appeal before the division bench demanding closure of the school contending that the commercial activity cannot be permitted in residential area.
The bench headed by the Chief Justice ordered the school not to grant new admission to kids for 2020-21 because the school told the court that there would not be any children left in the school on conclusion of the ongoing academic session.
This arrangement is to last till the board of nominee finally decides the dispute whether the school can be run in the society.
There are similar cases of residents of cooperative societies taking exception to use of houses or bungalows by the owners to earn from the rent. They have objected to running of hostels or paying guest facilities in housing societies without permission from a majority of residents.