Annual and development charges cannot be taken from parents till school opens: Delhi High Court

New Delhi : The Delhi High Court has said that annual Charge and Development Fee cannot be taken from the parents of the students till the schools are closed during the current lockdown.

Justice Jayant Nath made the remarks on August 25 while hearing a petition by the parent organization of a private school. The petition challenged the school to charge annual and development fees along with tuition fees from July.

The High Court has barred schools from charging annual and development fees from parents until the next order from July. The court has also issued a notice to the Delhi government and the school, seeking to know their side on the petition of the parent organization. The court will further hear the case on 16 September.

During the hearing through video conference, the school argued that the lockdown was over, so it could charge annual and development fees.

However, Additional Permanent Advocate Gautam Narayan, appearing for the Delhi government, said that the Directorate of Education in its circular dated 18 April had asked schools not to charge annual and development fees during the lockdown period. This circular is still in force because the schools are not open.

After hearing the arguments, the judge said that prima facie, in my opinion it seems that annual and development charges cannot be charged from the parents during the current lockdown. The court said that parents would have to pay tuition fees.