The Rajasthan High Court today stayed a move to shift the new Kendriya Vidhyalaya (KV) school at Jaisindhar near Munabao in Barmer to MP Sonaram's former assembly constituency and gave the go-ahead with the admission process.
The High Court bench here comprising justice Govind Mathur and justice Jai Shree Thakur also issued notices to Sonaram, the state and the KVS seeking their replies on August 24.
The new KV was to begin session at Jaisindhar from this academic year but Sonaram intervened to shift it to Chohtan, his constituency, which was challenged by villagers of Jaisindhar in the high court.
According to the petitioners' counsel Sandeep Shah, the then District Collector of Barmer himself had requested in 2010 to open a KV in Jaisindhar stating that the area was backward and that the army and the paramilitary forces would be benifitted by a school there.
The villagers also came forward and donated the land for the school.
But Sonaram intervened to shift the location of KV to Chohtan, far away from the border village of Jaisindhar, by writing to the KVS, the chief minister and the HRD minister.
The KVS, however, expressed interest in continuing with the school at its original location but acting upon it, the District Collector ordered by just a simple note that the admission process at Jaisindhar be suspended.
The villagers then moved a PIL in the high court protesting the move to shift the school to Chohtan, granting which, the division bench of justice Govind Mathur and justice Jai Shree Thakur stayed the process of shifting the school ordering the school administration to continue with the admission process at Jaisindhar and issued notices to the state, KVS and MP Sonaram seeking reply on August 24.
Chohtan is the constituency where Sonaram had contested state assembly elections as a Congress candidate, prior to joining BJP.
