SC refrains from passing order on Sanskriti school's quota

The Supreme Court today refrained from passing any order on a plea of Centre challenging the Delhi High Court decision quashing 60 per cent quota in the prestigious Sanskriti School here for wards of Group-A government officials.
"Without hearing, we cannot pass any order," a bench comprising justices A R Dave and A K Goel said and posted the matter for hearing on January 4.
"We do not want to say anything," the bench further said as Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi questioned the reasoning given by the high court in its verdict and senior advocate K K Venugopal, appearing for the school, sought apex court's nod to go for the advertisement process for admission at its risk.

Rohatgi questioned how the high court can suo-motu take notice of the matter and pass directions without being contested.
He submitted that the judgment would change the entire character of the school, which is one of the best in the capital, set-up by the central government with 60 per cent seats for Group-A government officials.
"You cannot convert it into Kendra Vidyalaya," he said and questioned the suo-motu cognisance taken by the high court of the matter pending since 2006.

Venugopal said the apex court should allow the school to come out with the admission advertisement from third week of December.

Some of the advocates appearing for prospective admission seekers opposed the Centre's submission.
While setting aside the 60 per cent quota in Sanskriti School the high court in it November 6 judgement had said that it was "akin to the erstwhile segregation of white and black students in the US and violated constitutional provisions of equality and right to education".
60 per cent seats in the school are reserved for children of Group-A officers, 25 per cent for those from the economically weaker sections, 10 per cent for wards of rest of the society and 5 per cent for the staff of the school.

The court in its judgement had also observed that various expert commissions have said that the current school system in India and abroad promotes and maintains a wide chasm between the advantaged and disadvantaged.
The high court had taken suo motu cognizance of the issue in 2006 after reports that the school was charging nearly 40 per cent less fee from the children of Group-A officers of the Union Government vis-a-vis other children.