New Delhi, April 28 (IANS) Ryan International, a private unaided minority school, on Thursday moved the Delhi High Court challenging the city government order that private unaided schools allotted land by the DDA shall not hike fees without prior sanction of the government.
However, Justice Manmohan hearing the plea transferred the matter to a bench headed by Chief Justice G. Rohini, which is hearing similar pleas by private unaided schools.
Ryan International, which has already decided to increase the fee by 10 percent, said that any provisions which insist on prior permission of the department of education was made "inapplicable to unaided minority schools".
The division bench of the Delhi High Court in its January 19 order had said private unaided schools, which are allotted land by the Delhi Development Authority or other government agencies, have to take prior sanction from the Delhi government's education department before hiking fees.
Now, the bench is hearing review petitions of private schools asking to review its order.
On February 19, the Delhi government passed a similar order, which has been challenged by Ryan International, saying prior permission of the state cannot be insisted for the exercise of right under article 30(1) of the Constitution, as per which minorities shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.
"The prior permission clause is always treated as an obstruction to the free exercise of the right under article 30(1) of the Constitution. If the same is permitted, it is easy for the state to deprive a minority educational institution of their constitutional right to administer the educational institution by denying the prior permission sought by the management," said the plea.
"Hence it is submitted that the impugned order issued by the government is violative of article 30(1) of the Constitution and hence the same is not applicable to minority schools."
Neither the Supreme Court nor the high court has directed the department of education to ensure compliance of any terms in the letter of allotment of any minority educational institute, said the plea.
