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2020 Supreme(Raj) 646
IN THE HIGH COURT OF RAJASTHAN (JAIPUR BENCH)
I. Mahanty, Satish Kumar Sharma, JJ.
Sunil Samdaria and Ors. – Appellant
Vs.
The State Government of Rajasthan and Ors.- Respondent
D.B. Special Appeal Writ Nos. 637, 657, 659, 662, 663, 664, 665, 676, 680, 713 and 739/2020
Decided On : 18-12-2020
For the Appellant Party-in-Person, Kamlakar Sharma, Sr. Adv., Alankrita Sharma, Rishabh Khandelwal, Rishikesh Maharshi, Ravi Sharma, Mahesh Kumar Sharma, Rajesh Maharshi, AAG, Apoorv Gupta, Mahendra Shandilya, Kapil Sharma, Jitendra Mishra, Sameer Sharma, Vinod Kumar Singhal, Peush Nag, R.D.S.S. Kharlia, Abhishar Bhanu, Dinesh Yadav, Shailesh Prakash Sharma, Aniroodh Mathur, Krishanveer Singh, Mahendra Shah and Nitin Jain
For the Respondents: Kamlakar Sharma, Sr. Adv., Alankrita Sharma, Rishabh Khandelwal, Poonam Chand Bhandari, Shailesh Prakash Sharma, Rajesh Maharshi, AAG, Dinesh Yadav, Kapil Sharma, Amit Chhangani, Anuroop Singhi, R.D.S.S. Kharlia, Prateek Kasliwal, Shivanshu Naval, Raunak Bapna, Sumitra Choudhary, D.S. Dhariwal, Hukum Chand Sharma, Munesh Bhardwaj, C.S. Sinha, R.D. Rastogi, ASG, A.K. Sharma, Sr. Adv., V.K. Sharma and Sangeeta Kumari Sharma
The main legal point established in the judgment is the authority of the State Government to issue directions for school fees collection under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 and the Rajasthan Epidemic Diseases Act, 2020, and the need for a balance between the interests of private schools and parents during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Headnote:
School Fees Collection - COVID-19 Pandemic - Disaster Management Act, 2005, Rajasthan Epidemic Diseases Act, 2020 - [The judgment discusses various orders issued by the State Government of Rajasthan in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the deferment and subsequent reduction of school fees for private schools. The court considered the authority of the State Government to issue such orders, the balance between the interests of private schools and parents, and the alternative mechanism for determination of fees under the Rajasthan Schools (Regulation of Fee) Act, 2016 and Rules of 2017.]
Fact of the Case:
The State Government of Rajasthan deferred the collection of school fees for private schools for 3 months in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Subsequently, the deferment was extended till the opening of the schools, with a stipulation that students should not be expelled for non-payment of fees. The court considered various petitions challenging these orders and directed the schools to allow students to continue online studies and deposit 70% of the tuition fees in three installments. The State Government issued further directions for the collection of school fees, leading to a consensus for final disposal of the petitions.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the State Government had the authority to issue directions under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 and the Rajasthan Epidemic Diseases Act, 2020 to mitigate the financial hardships faced by parents during the pandemic. It held that the impugned orders were not arbitrary or unreasonable, and the State Government had tried to strike a balance between the interests of private schools and parents. The court also directed private schools to specially determine the school fees for the period of school closure and after reopening, in accordance with the Rajasthan Schools (Regulation of Fee) Act, 2016 and Rules of 2017.
Issues: The main issues revolved around the authority of the State Government to issue directions for school fees collection during the COVID-19 pandemic, the balance between the financial hardships faced by private schools and parents, and the fairness of the impugned orders. The court also addressed the need for special determination of school fees and the bifurcation of fee components.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the State Government had the authority to issue directions under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 and the Rajasthan Epidemic Diseases Act, 2020 to mitigate the financial hardships faced by parents during the pandemic. It emphasized the need for a balance between the interests of private schools and parents, and directed private schools to specially determine the school fees in accordance with the Rajasthan Schools (Regulation of Fee) Act, 2016 and Rules of 2017.
Final Decision: The court allowed private schools to collect school fees subject to special determination of fees as directed, vacated the interim order passed by the Single Judge, and directed private schools to publish necessary details for the special determination of school fees. It also provided recourse for appeal/reference before the Divisional Fee Regulatory Committee/Revision Committee for aggrieved parties.
JUDGMENT :
Satish Kumar Sharma, J.
1. The brief facts given rise to these matters are that the State Government of Rajasthan in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic, vide its order dated 09.04.2020, deferred the collection of school fees for 3 months by the private schools recognized by Primary and Secondary Education Departments.
2. Subsequently, vide order dated 07.07.2020, the above deferment of collection of fees was extended till the opening of the schools with the stipulation that the name of any student shall not be struck off for non-payment of school fees.
3. Above orders of the State Government were challenged by way of S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 7564/2020; Society of Catholic Education Rajasthan Vs. State Government of Rajasthan And Anr. SBCWP No. 8835/2020; NISA Education And Anr. Vs. State of Rajasthan And Anr. SBCWP No. 8826/2020; School Shiksha Pariwar Sanstha and Anr. Vs. The State Government of Rajasthan and Anr. SBCWP No. 7609/2020; Progressive Schools Association vs. State of Rajasthan And Anr.
4. S.B. Civil Misc. Stay applications filed in the above SB Civil Writ Petitions were disposed of vide order dated 07.09.2020 with the directions to the schools' management to allow the students to continue their studies online and allow them to deposit 70% of the tuition fees element from the total fees being charged for the year. This 70% of the tuition fees was to be deposited for the period from March 2020 in three installments with the condition that on non-payment of the said fees, student(s) may not be allowed to join online classes but they shall not be expelled from the school.
5. Above mentioned Special Appeal Writs came to be filed, challenging above order dated 07.09.2020.
6. During the course of hearing, on 23.10.2020, Mr. Rajesh Maharshi, Learned Additional Advocate General submitted before the Court that a committee has been constituted by the State Government for determination of fees to be charged by the private schools for the period of lockdown imposed due to COVID-19 pandemic and the recommendations of the committee shall be filed on 02.11.2020. On the objections raised on behalf of the private schools, the State Government was directed to issue necessary directions by 28.10.2020 positively, regarding interim fees which the private schools shall be allowed to charge subject to final decision in this regard.
7. In compliance of order dated 23.10.2020, the State Government vide order dated 28.10.2020 issued directions for collection of school fees after opening of the schools to the tune of 70% of tuition fees by the schools affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education and 60% from the schools affiliated with Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education on the basis of reduction of syllabus by the respective Boards. Before opening of the schools, it has been directed that the private schools which are conducting online classes shall be entitled to collect 60% of the tuition fees as "Capacity Building Fees" from the students who are availing the facility of online classes and that too after taking consent of the guardians. Such Capacity Building Fees shall be collected in equal monthly installments. The order dated 28.10.2020 also contains the process of determination of tuition fees in terms of Rajasthan Schools (Regulation of Fee) Act, 2016 and under the Rules of 2017 which envisage that separate heads of fees such as tuition fees, library fees, etc. It has also been directed that the fees prescribed for the last academic session will not be enhanced. The private schools shall not recover the fees for the facilities which have not been provided by them such as laboratory facilities, sports facilities, extra co-curricular facilities etc.
8. On 07.12.2020 in the course of hearing, learned counsel for all the parties arrived at the consensus that looking at the urgency and importance of the matters and in order for final and expeditious disposal of the same, all the petitions filed regarding collection of scho
