Man moves HC after Juhu preschool cancels daughter’s admission for change in residence

A father has filed a writ petition in the Bombay high court after a preschool in Juhu forced him to withdraw his daughter's admission due to a change in his place of residence. The father is seeking readmission for his daughter and action against the school for discrimination.

Father of a 15-month-old child has filed a writ petition in the Bombay high court contending that a Juhu-based preschool forced him to withdraw his daughter’s admission on grounds that he had changed his place of living.

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Somin Gada, a Vile Parle resident, said he had in May applied to Kookaburra Learning Centre, a popular preschool among celebrities.

“My daughter started to settle down and started loving her educators and support staff. On September 2, my wife got a call from the management asking her not to send our daughter to the Juhu branch of the centre anymore,” he said.

“They asked my wife where we were living. She said we were residing at Versova although all our documents were registered at the Vile Parle address. The school then told her to shift our daughter to the Lokhandwala branch of the preschool, but she refused,” Gada said.

After this call, the parents tried to reach the principal. However, on September 3, she received a WhatsApp message from the centre asking her to cancel their daughter’s admission and take a refund, the petition said.

The petitioner claimed that they had four properties in Vile Parle, Versova, and D N Nagar (Andheri), and the Versova beach house was a gift for their daughter from family members. “Hence, we have come here to stay for a couple of months as there is renovation work going on at our Vile Parle house.”

Exhausted from trying to contact the principal, Gada said he sent bank details to the school on September 12 for a refund. The school on September 18 cancelled the admission and sent the refund, he said.

“On September 27, we sent a legal notice to the preschool, asking for readmission of my daughter but the school had not responded. Finally, we filed a writ petition in the HC on October 5 through Pentagon Legal, a law firm,” Gada said and added that he is still trying to connect with the principal.

The learning centre has three divisions named daffodils, lilacs, and sunflowers in the first, second, and third years respectively. Gada’s daughter was in daffodils. “We have found that there are many students in my daughter’s batch and seniors who have permanent addresses at four bungalows (Andheri), DN Nagar, and Lokhandwala,” Gada said.

In the petition, he pleaded that “their daughter be given readmission and allowed to go to Kookaburra Learning Centre (Juhu) with immediate effect and action be taken against the responsible authorities for the misconduct and discrimination.”

Advocate Parshva Bhankharia from Pentagon Legal said, “Circumstantial evidence indicates there has been discrimination against the petitioner’s child.”

Despite several attempts through phone calls and email, the management of Kookaburra Learning Centre could not be reached for a comment.