New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India refused to entertain plea by parents from different states seeking deferment/moratorium on school fees for the COVID-19 lockdown period.
The bench led by the Chief Justice of India, SA Bobde, said that this issue should have been raised in the High Court as problems of each state is different.
"It's a fact intensive situation. You have filed a plea for the whole country. It's a problem for us as we don't know who would take decision for the whole country. Problems in each state are different," said CJI.
Making further observations CJI said that these days court's jurisdiction is sought on all the matters whether it be education, or migrants, "like an omnibus juridisction".
Advocates Balaji Srinivasan and Mayank Kshirsagar said the Punjab and Haryana High Court has allowed schools to charge hiked fee.
The bench told that the petitioners can file an appeal against that order of Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Objecting to filing a PIL for the whole country, CJI remarked that "it would be a stroke of genius if you can solve everybody's problems. It gave liberty to the petitioner to approach the High courts and withdraw from the apex court."
Parents of school going children from different states have moved the top court seeking declaration of moratorium or deferment of payment of school fees during the COVID-19 induced lockdown.
The plea also sought that the Centre and all states be asked to direct the private unaided/aided schools to only charge the proportionate fees based on actual expenditure towards the conduct of the online virtual classes and no other fees from the students since April 1 till the commencement of physical classes.
“The petitioners belonging to different states of the country have come together being constrained to approach this Court seeking inter alia the protection of fundamental right to life as well as education guaranteed under the Constitution of India, 1950 which the children & students enrolled up to the Class XII of various Indian states are being deprived of due to supervening factors namely, the ongoing pandemic- COVID-19 period...,” the plea said.
It said that due to the lockdown, financially incapacitated parents have to bear the brunt of the fees, which may leave a few of them with no option but to withdraw their children or students from seeking institutional/school education for an unforeseeable period.
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