The Supreme Court has sought the response of the Delhi Director of Education on a petition challenging the Delhi High Court verdicts that permitted private unaided schools on government lands to increase fees.
The Bench of Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justice AG Masih passed the order on Thursday on a petition filed by Naya Samaj Parents Association and listed the matter for further hearing in June.
The petitioner challenged two judgments delivered by the High Court in 2024 and 2025, giving permission to private schools based on government lands to increase their fees without prior approval from the Director of Education, Delhi government.
The plea claimed that private unaided schools in Delhi have increased fees multifold mostly by up to 100 percent and were taking penal actions against students, causing confusion and panic in the education system of the national capital.
In April 2024, a single-judge Bench of the High Court observed that an unaided recognised private school was not required to take prior approval from the DoE before increasing its fees, irrespective of whether the land clause apply to it or not.
The interim order was based on the legal position regarding the Action Committee Unaided Recognised Private Schools, as it existed then.
The single-judge Bench further stayed a circular issued by the DoE regarding the fee structure proposals of the private unaided schools.
The order was challenged before the Division Bench, which dismissed the Letters Patent Appeal on April 8, 2025, on the grounds that the present petitioner was not a party before the writ court.
The aggrieved parents moved the Supreme Court.
The petitioner submitted that the High Court verdict was contrary to the decisions of the Delhi High Court in Justice For All Vs Govt of NCT of Delhi and the Supreme Court in Modern School Vs Union of India as well as Article 141 of the Constitution.
In Justice For All, the High Court held that the quantum of fees to be charged by unaided schools was subject to regulation by DoE in terms of the power conferred under Section 17(3) of DSE Act, 1973. The DoE was competent to interfere if hike in fee by a particular school was found to be excessive and perceived as indulging in profiteering.
The unaided schools on DDA lands were bound to comply with the stipulation mentioned in their letter of allotment. The schools could not increase the rate of tuition fees without the consent of the DoE. Paragraph 28 of the decision in Modern School was binding on them, it added.
In the Modern School Case, the Apex Court observed that it was the duty of the Director of Education to ascertain whether terms of allotment of land by the Government to the schools have been complied with.
The top court of the country mentioned a clause of an allotment letter issued by DDA to such private schools, which said that the school should not increase the rates of tuition fee without prior sanction of the DoE, Delhi administration and follow the provisions of the Delhi School Education Act/Rules, 1973 and other instructions issued from time to time.
In Paragraph 28 of the verdict, the DoE was directed to look into letters of allotment issued by the Government and ascertain whether they have been complied with by the schools.
While granting three months time to the Director to complete the exercise, the Apex Court said that in case of non-compliance with the above terms, the Director should take appropriate steps in this regard.