The Supreme Court (SC) has reversed the Chandigarh administration’s decision asking private schools in the city to upload balance sheets on their websites.
The SC ruling came on a plea filed by the Independent School Association (ISA), a body of 78 private schools in the city, after Punjab and Haryana high court had in August 2021 had upheld the UT’s decision. The judgment was pronounced on May 11, but made available on Wednesday.
The ISA had challenged three amendments in the Punjab (Regulations of Fees of Unaided Educational Institutions) Act, 2016 as extended to the Union Territory of Chandigarh. The law was adopted by the UT in 2018. The petitions against these provisions were filed in 2020.
While upholding UT’s decision, high court had observed, “The right to privacy is primarily for the individuals. Though the right to privacy is also available to artificial entities, but since the field of education is a charitable occupation, we do not find any reason to hold that uploading of the financial statements on the websites of the private educational institutions in any manner will breach the right to privacy.”
However, The SC bench said changes made by UT were peripheral or insubstantial to the Act. There is no provision to upload balance sheets or disclose income and expenditure in the principal Act, the SC bench said terming the UT’s move ultra vires (done without legal authority).
The schools had also challenged the penalty amount, which is imposed in the case of any violation by schools. The court reversed this decision also observing that this is again not an insubstantial alteration or modification.
{{/usCountry}}The schools had also challenged the penalty amount, which is imposed in the case of any violation by schools. The court reversed this decision also observing that this is again not an insubstantial alteration or modification.
{{/usCountry}}What should be the quantum of penalty amount or punishment is a legislative policy and cannot be provided by way of an executive order, it added. Now, UT can levy penalty only as per the Punjab’s law. UT had notified that if any unaided educational institution contravenes provisions of the Act, it is punishable with a fine which may extend up to ₹30,000 in case of unaided educational institutions of primary level, ₹50,000 in case of the middle level and up to ₹1 lakh in case of the secondary and senior secondary level institutions for each contravention.
As per officials, even as schools will not have to upload the balance sheets on their websites, they must be provided to education department.