HC refuses to stay action against private Delhi school

The Delhi High Court on Friday did not stay the Delhi government's proposed action against a private school for not refunding excess fee.

A division bench of Justice Sunil Gaur and Justice C. Hari Shankar issued notice to the Directorate of Education seeking its response on plea of the school challenging the department's May 29 notice to refund the excess fees and posted the matter for June 14.

The private school is one of 531 schools which, as per the high court-appointed Justice Anil Dev Singh committee, had charged excess fees on the pretext of implementing the 6th Pay Commission's recommendations. The panel was set up in 2011 to review fees of private schools.

After examining 1,092 private schools, the panel had said that 531 among them had charged excess fee and recommended that it should be refunded with nine per cent interest.

The department, in its May 29 notice to several defaulting schools, said that their failure to refund the excess fees could lead to their de-recognition or taking over of its management as per the Delhi School Education Act and Rules of 1973.

The school has sought stay of the notice saying its representation on review of recommendation is yet to be decided by the department. The department however said neither it nor the panel can review its recommendation and the school ought to have come to court much earlier.

The department had issued notice to schools after the court had asked them to ensure compliance of the committee's recommendations, while hearing a plea by NGO Abhibhavak Mahasangh, which had alleged that the DoE was not ensuring implementation of the recommendations of the committee.

--IANS

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