Delhi HC to pass order Saturday on schools' plea to stay mandate on creating fee regulation committee

New Delhi, Feb 27 (PTI) The Delhi High Court on Friday said it will pass an order on February 28 on the issue of staying the Delhi government's mandate to private schools to constitute a 'school level fee regulation committee' (SLFRC) for the upcoming academic session from April.

A bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia heard the counsel appearing for several school associations on their plea seeking a stay on the February 1 notification by the Delhi government which asked the schools to set up the SLFRC within 10 days as well as the additional solicitor general S V Raju for the government.

"Heard learned counsel for the parties on the prayer for grant of interim relief. Order reserved. To be pronounced tomorrow," the bench said.

The stay applications form part of the petitions assailing the February 1 notification. The petitioners include the Delhi Public School Society and Action Committee Unaided Recognised Private Schools.

According to the schools, the notification was legally unsustainable as it changed the timelines prescribed in the Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Act for constitution of the SLFRC.

On Friday, Additional Solicitor General Raju, appearing for the government, argued that the "dates" given in the Act were neither "sacrosanct" nor did they form part of its "basic structure", and therefore "slight tinkering" with such timelines would survive.

He asserted that the aim of the Act was to prevent commercialisation and profiteering by schools and the notification was brought to further this objective and no irreparable loss would be caused to the schools.

"On the contrary, if an excessive unregulated fee is charged by certain schools, grave financial burden and irreparable loss would be caused to students. There may be many students who may not be able to study, to be able to afford the fees.. Balance of convenience is in favour of those students," ASG Raju said.

He further said had the February 1 order not been passed by the Delhi government, the schools would not be able to collect fees from April 1 for the new academic session as it would not be according to the new fee regulation law.

On February 1, the Delhi government issued a gazette notification to "smoothen" the implementation of the Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Act after the Supreme Court raised questions over its new fee fixation law.

According to the notification, every school was directed to constitute a school-level fee regulation committee (SLFRC) within 10 days of the publication of the order.

The Gazette further said that school managements must submit details of the proposed fee structure for the next block of three academic years starting from 2026-27 within 14 days of forming the SLFRC, after which the committee will proceed to fix the fees according to the provisions of the Act.

On February 9, the court had extended the deadline of February 10 set by the Delhi government for private schools to constitute the SLFRC.

In its response filed to the petitions, the Directorate of Education said if the Act was not allowed to be implemented from April 1, it would defeat the object of the Act, i.e. to prevent profiteering and have regulated fees from the beginning of the academic year 2026-27.

"If section 3 of the Act is interpreted to mean that in the absence of determination of fee, the school may charge such fee as it deems fit, it would "enable schools to indulge in the very act of exploitative commercialization and profiteering", said the response.

"In view of all the aforesaid difficulties that the impugned Removal of Difficulties Order dated 01.02.2026 was issued to provide for a special onetime measure for the block of three academic years starting from 2026-27," the response stated. PTI ADS ZMN