Excess fees issue: Delhi HC tells schools to deposit 75% money with court registry

The high court was hearing a bunch of pleas filed by various private schools seeking recall of the Justice Anil Dev Singh committee recommendations to refund excess fees.

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed about 100 private schools that failed to refund the excess fee despite a government order to deposit 75% of the principal amount with the court registry to avoid any coercive action.

The high court was hearing a bunch of pleas filed by various private schools seeking recall of the Justice Anil Dev Singh committee recommendations to refund excess fees. (AFP)

The high court took exception that the schools have not complied with the Justice Anil Dev Singh committee recommendations to refund the excess fees even after six years.

“We had given you adequate time to schools to put your house in order. Yet, the schools have not complied with our order. They must themselves deposit the amount extracted in excess from students,” the high court said.

“We acknowledge that there may be variations in the amount calculated by the committee. But to say that halt the whole process, is not fair. We can’t pass a blanket order that don’t recover the money,” the high court observed.

The high court was hearing a bunch of pleas filed by various private schools seeking recall of the Justice Anil Dev Singh committee recommendations to refund excess fees.

The court directed the schools and DoE to sit together and articulate the broader issues relating to findings of the committee, which the schools were challenging in the case.

The direction came after senior advocates Salman Khurshid and Amit Sibal, appearing for some private schools, said there were discrepancies in the findings of the committee and had challenged some of its recommendations including computation of the excess fees.

The bench posted the matter for hearing on September 25.

The high court had earlier said it would seek implementation of the recommendations of a panel set up by it to look into the excess fees charged by private schools on the pretext of implementing the 6th Pay Commission.

On May 31, the DoE had told the court that private schools that do not refund the excess fees they charged will face derecognition or takeover.

After examining 1,092 private schools, the panel had said that 531 among them had charged excess fee and recommended that it should be refunded with nine per cent interest.

The high court had set up the panel and issued directions for refund of excess fees in 2011 on a plea by the NGO, Delhi Abhibhavak Mahasangh.