HC raps DDA for permitting school to take loan against plot

“It’s no answer for DDA to take that the permission to mortgage the property was granted with the condition that the user of the plot could not be changed even … in the eventuality of the mortgage being enforced and the property being sold,” said the division bench of acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Sachin Datta.

The court said the DDA should be equally concerned with the fact that working of the school itself would get disrupted on enforcement of the mortgage, which would jeopardise the future of students. “We therefore direct the DDA to reconsider their policy in this regard and take corrective measures,” said the bench.

The court was hearing a public interest litigation related to auctioning of the school building. The Delhi government in April had told a single bench that it has decided to take over the school situated in CR Park and on Wednesday reiterated the submission. The court was also told the government has already initiated steps for audit of the school accounts.  “How are you granting permission to schools to mortgage school property? What do you mean by conditional permission? The society is going to swindle the amounts after realising … This is not a commercial property; it is given for a social cause. The point is if the management wants to monetise the asset, they take the money, they run away with the money and everything is left high and dry. How can this be?” the division bench asked the DDA earlier.

On November 11, 2021, the Debt Recovery Tribunal had ordered that the government-aided school would go for e-auction. The school had defaulted on loan taken from a bank. The auction was set to affect the career of 900 students.