Financial hardship cannot justify non-compliance with statutory mandates, and employees of recognized private schools are entitled to benefits similar to those of government-run schools as per Section 10 of the Delhi School Education Act, 1973.

ORDER

1. The petitioners, who are working as Teachers including pre-primary, Librarian, TGT and PGT in the respondent No.1 / School have filed the petition with the following prayers:

"In the premise aforesaid, the petitioners most humbly pray that this Hon'ble Court may be pleased to:

i) issue any appropriate writ, order or direction, directing the Respondent Ahlcon Public School to forthwith pay to the petitioners the amounts wrongfully deducted from their salaries from the month of June 2020 and onwards till date;

ii) issue any appropriate writ, order or direction, directing the Respondent Ahlcon Public School to fix the pay of the petitioners in terms of the 7th pay commission w.e.f 01.01.2016 and pay to petitioners pay, allowances, other benefits including arrears of salaries and all the consequential benefits;

iii) issue any appropriate writ, order or direction, directing the Respondent No.2/Director of Education to take action in accordance with the provisions of Section 10 of the Delhi School Education Act, 1973 against the Respondent/School for aforesaid failures on the part of the Respondent/School;

iv) pass any other, order or direction or such further orders as may be deemed just and appropriate, in the facts and circumstances of the case and also in the interest of justice, in favour of the petitioners; and

v) allow the present writ petition with cost, in favour of the petitioners."

2. It is the submission of Mr. Ashok Aggarwal, learned counsel for the petitioners that the petitioners have not been paid complete salary w.e.f. June 2020 till date. According to him, the same has been paid with deductions. He also states that the petitioners are also not being paid salary, allowances and other benefits including Dearness Allowance ('DA' for short) in terms of the recommendations made by the 7th Central Pay Commission ('7th CPC', for short) w.e.f. January 01, 2016 as notified by the Govt. of NCT of Delhi.

3. According to him, despite many representations, no reply has been given by the respondent No. 1 / School.

4. The respondent No.1 / School has filed a counter affidavit wherein a stand has been taken that the School is being run on a land allotted to the Society by the Delhi Development Authority ('DDA' for short) as per the industrial rates with a clear stipulation that it will admit 25% children belonging to Economically Weaker Section ('EWS' for short) and will provide Freeship in Tuition fee to such children and further the respondent No.1 / School will take prior permission from the Director of Education before increasing the fee.

5. It is also stated that under Section 10 of the Delhi School Education Act, 1973 ('DSE Act', for short), the scales of pay and prescribed benefits of the employees of a recognised unaided school shall not be less than the amount that is being allowed to the corresponding positions in the Schools of the Directorate of Education. As per Section 17(3) of the Act, the Manager of a recognized unaided private school shall file with the Director of Education, a full statement of fees to be levied during the ensuing academic session and no school shall charge, during that academic session, any fee in excess thereof without the prior approval of the Director.

6. According to the learned counsel for the respondent No.1, the fee is the only source of revenue for the respondent No. 1 and a compatible fee structure conducive to meeting the remuneration and the service benefits to the staff, with infrastructural facilities, with all modern learning tools and provisions for future growth is the only requisite. The respondent No. 1 has all along extended the pay scales to its staff right till the 6th CPC. The 7th CPC pay scales were introduced with effect from January 01, 2016, the orders for which were issued subsequently at a much later date. Following the past practice and in order to follow the provisions, the respondent No.1 had duly worked out the budget estimates for the year 2016-17 and in a meet