The Delhi High Court, while reserving the order on a plea filed by Delhi Government challenging the order of a single Bench that restored the management quota for nursery admissions in private unaided schools, said the Delhi Government will have to show that private unaided schools were indulging in commercialisation and profiteering by way of the management quota. The court asked “where is the basis for such allegationsIJ”
The Delhi Government while responding to a query by the High Court as to how private unaided schools can be restrained from exercising management quota when they are entitled to it under a 2007 order of lt Governor, the Delhi Government submitted management quota for nursery admission in private schools was “inherently prone to misuse”.
The submission was made to the Bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath who sought the Delhi Government’s response earlier. “When there is something inherently prone to misuse, State as regulator can say don’t do it. Management quota is a criterion which is prone to misuse,” said the AAP Government.
However, a group of private unaided schools on the other hand maintained that the Delhi Government’s January 6 order in which it scrapped various criteria and the management quota was not issued by the l-G or under any statute and “ran foul” of the l-G’s 2007 order.
After hearing arguments of both sides, the Bench reserved its verdict on the Government’s plea challenging a single-judge order of the High Court staying the scrapping of the management quota and certain other criteria for the nursery admissions in private unaided schools.
During the hearing, the court said the Government would have to show that private unaided schools were indulging in commercialisation and profiteering by way of the management quota and asked “where is the basis for such allegationsIJ”
The Government said it has received complaints from lot of parents that some schools have demanded capitation fees and added that these were placed before the single-judge, who in turn asked the Government to take action. The Government said it has issued show-cause notices to some schools, which had indulged in such activity.
The Government also contended that the 2007 order was not etched in stone so as to make it insurmountable for all times to come. It alleged that there were “inherent contradictions” in the entire approach of the single-judge, who had passed on February 4 an interim order in which he had also given a prima facie view that the January 6 decision was taken without any authority of law.