The Fee Committee exceeded its jurisdiction by adjudicating complaints post-enactment of the Punjab Regulation of Fee of Unaided Educational Institutions Act, 2016, leading to the quashing of its orders.

JUDGMENT

Sandeep Moudgil, J.

By way of this common order, a bunch of aforesaid 48 writ petitions are being decided together involving identical question of law and similar set of facts.

2. While invoking the jurisdiction of this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, quashing of orders, passed by the Fee Committee constituted by the High Court for the Private Unaided Schools of Punjab, to examine the complaints by certain parents/representatives and even by individuals made to the Chairman, Central Board of Secondary Education (hereinafter referred to as 'CBSE' in short), alleging exorbitant increase in fee under various heads such as annual charges, tuition fee apart from funds on account of stationery, identity cards, call charges, medical charges, computer charges, miscellaneous charges etc has been sought along with the order dated 30.12.2016 (Annexure P-2) vide which the Fee Committee for the private unaided schools of Punjab has dismissed the review petitions preferred by the Educational Institutions-petitioners.

3. To avoid brevity of facts and the circumstances, which are absolutely similar and identical on legal aspects in all the writ petitions, facts are being considered from the lead case i.e. Civil Writ Petition No.5802 of 2017 titled as "Bal Bharti Public School and Others v. State of Punjab and others".

4. The petitioner No.1 "Bal Bharti Public School" (hereinafter referred to as petitioner schools) is being run by a Society namely Child Education Society (registered), a parent society of Bal Bharti Public Schools, Pusa Road, New Delhi, on a land stated to have been purchased by it in an open auction to establish a school of secondary level for a sum of Rs. 14,80,50,760/- and further spending huge amount on construction of school building. The case set up by the petitioner schools says that it started its operations as a primary school in the year 2007-08 with present student strength of approximately 1300, which was subsequently made functional as a secondary school in the year 2010-11 after the recognition for the same was granted by the Punjab School Education Board (hereinafter referred to as "Board" in short) and affiliation by the CBSE.

5. It is the common stand of all the petitioners and matter of record that a Civil Writ Petition No.20545 of 2009 titled as "Anti Corruption and Crime Investigation Cell v. State of Punjab and others", was filed alleging that the parents are being taken to ransom by whimsically enhancing the school fee and the State as well as the CBSE have not come forward to check such menace despite being obligatory upon them under Article 41 of the Constitution, which lays down that the State shall make effective provision for securing Right to Education. The moot question being examined by the Hon'ble Division Bench was recorded in para 81 of its order:-

"81. The moot question is while giving freedom to the schools to fix their own fees structure, how to ensure that these schools are not indulging in profiteering/commercialization of education and are also not diverting funds through unauthorized channels. In Delhi Abhibhavak Mahasangh case (supra), Delhi High Court expressed the view that there was a need for establishing a permanent Regulatory Body/mechanism, the rationale whereof is given in paras No. 72 and 81, already extracted above."

6. In the bunch of writ petitions in hand, it is a three member Committee as was constituted for the State of Punjab (hereinafter referred to as "Fee Committee" in short), to examine the complaints of the parents/representatives of students studying in different private unaided educational institutions, that had passed the orders impugned herein. Though, the judgment is being pronounced taking CWP No.5802 of 2017, as a lead case but for the sake of convenience of the parties to the lis, a brief factual matrix is being recorded hereinbelow:-

(2) CWP- 15043-2017

Petitioner school is an unaided recognized private Senior Secondary School esta