HC: Delhi govt’s rule fine on late fee payment don’t apply on pvt unaided schools

The Delhi High Court has ruled out that provisions of the Delhi School Education Rules which state a school cannot charge fine in excess of five paise a day for late payment of fees, does not apply to private unaided schools here.

On a petition filed by the Action Committee Unaided Recognized Private School, a confederation of more than 500 private unaided schools in Delhi, a panel of Justices Vibhu Bakhru and Amit Mahajan issued the ruling.

The petitioner had challenged a decision made by the Directorate of Education (DoE) in February 2013 that stated a private, unaided school in this country could not impose a punishment more than five pence per day for a student’s late payment of tuition.

The petitioner, who was represented by attorney Kamal Gupta, also requested a directive stating that private unaided recognised schools are exempt from Part B of Chapter XIII of the Rules’ rule 166.

Setting aside the DoE order, the court stated that private unaided schools receive a significant amount of autonomy in fee concerns, in contrast to the fee levied by the aided schools.

According to the court, private, unaided institutions are free to set their own tuition rates, as well as additional fees and contributions that must be paid by the student.

“From perusal of the provisions contained in Chapter XIII of the Rules, and keeping in mind the principles of purposive interpretation as discussed above, we have no hesitation to hold that the provisions of Chapter XIII of the Rules are applicable only in relation to aided schools,” said the court in its order dated November 15.

“The order dated 11.02.2013 passed by the DoE is, accordingly, set aside,” the court said.

The court said that even though it has held that rule 166 is not applicable in relation to private unaided schools, the DoE order had mentioned that a committee has been set up for review of the provision.

It expected authorities to expedite the process and make recommendations within a period of 8 weeks, it added.