The Supreme Court today issued notice in a plea filed by an association of 145 schools challenging the Calcutta High Court order directing schools to offer a minimum of 20% reduction in school fees (Association of Schools for ICSE v. Vineet Ruia & Ors).
Arguing for the appellant schools before the Supreme Court today, Senior Advocate Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi stated that High Court had acted as a “super regulatory authority” in this case and had ignored that schools too had to incur expenses during the lockdown. He argued,
“Schools are having to face expenses even during lockdown. The order has been made binding even on parties who were not heard. Government has allowed sharing proportionate fees, which has been overridden by the High Court even thought there was no complaint. High Court has transgressed its powers and acts like a super regulatory authority under Article 226 of the Constitution by directing private schools to have a reduction in the fees being charged.”
In a close to the tussle between parents of students in private schools and the school administration on the quantum of tuition fees leviable during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Calcutta High Court has directed schools to offer a minimum of 20% reduction in the fee payable (Vineet Ruia v. State of West Bengal).
