BAL BHARATI PUBLIC SCHOOL Vs. DIRECTORATE OF EDUCATION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is a private unaided recognised senior secondary school, which was granted permanent recognition, by the Directorate of Education (hereinafter referred to as the "DOE"), in 1973. The lease deeds, whereby land was allotted, by the Land and Development Office (L&DO) for construction of the petitioner's school, issued in 1955, 1963, 1965, 1974 and 1975 did not contain any stipulation to the effect that, before or after increasing its tuition fee, the school was required to take approval, for the said increase, from the DOE. Section 17 of the Delhi School Education Act, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as the "DSE Act"), which governs charging of fees by schools stipulates, in sub-section (iii), inter alia, that such schools are required to file, with the DOE, a full statement of the fees to be levied by the school during the ensuing academic session and are proscribed from charging any fee in excess thereof, during the ensuing academic session without proper approval of the DOE. For ready reference, Section 17 of the DSE Act may be reproduced, in extenso, thus :

(2.) I may note, here, that it is not disputed, even by learned counsel for the respondents, that prior approval of the DOE was not required, before the petitioner took a decision regarding the fees to be charged by it for the next academic session. Such fees were to be decided, as per the DSE Act, by the Managing Committee of the School, which consisted, inter alia, nominees of the DOE as well as nominees of the Advisory Board of the School. It has also been averred, in the writ petition, that the school has been functioning for over 45 years and that no prior approval, for the fees charged by it, for providing tuition to its students, was ever sought by the DOE.

(3.) Vide a communication dated 29th March, 2017, addressed to the DOE, and issued in compliance with Section 17(3) of the DSE Act, the school intimated the fee structure, as approved by its Managing Committee for the ensuing academic session i.e. for the academic session 2017-2018. The said communication reads as under: