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Synopsis

A Supreme Court bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and MM Sundaresh today, stayed the order of Delhi High Court asking the State government to fill up the unfilled seats for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in the next five years.

A  Delhi High Court, division bench of Justice Najmi Waziri and Justice Vikas Mahajan had in May directed, “The State shall ensure that the 25% seats in the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category students shall be filled up based on declared sanctioned strength at the entry-level (Pre-school/Nursery/ Pre-primary/KG and Class-I), irrespective of the actual number of students admitted in the General category.”

The Delhi High Court had noted that under the EWS category:

(i) The private schools on private land have to admit 25% of students in the EWS category for which the repayment of fees, etc. is done based on expenses incurred for a student of a government school;

(ii) The private schools on government land have to admit 25% of EWS category students at the entry level. However, reimbursement by the GNCTD is to be done for only 5% of students in this category. Expenses of education of the remaining 20% of EWS candidates are the obligation of the private schools themselves because of the condition for allotment of government land.

Thus, the High Court ordered that in instances where schools have not complied with the strict requirements of admission of EWS category students, the State has to step in and exercise its duty as a Welfare State. "No beneficiary of government land can overlook or avoid its obligation under the allotment,” Court had said.

The court had posted the matter for further proceeding on August 4, 2022 and had directed a compliance report to be filed.

When the matter came up for hearing today, Shyam Divan, Sr. Adv, appearing for the petitioner,  apprised the court of the order passed in the case by the Delhi High Court. He argued that the order of the Delhi High Court was passed in a Letters Patent Appeal in a plea by a person who was not a party before the Single judge. The bench expressed that it appears to them that an LPA was treated as a Public Interest Litigation. 

The court, while staying the order of the Delhi High Court, remarked that the proceedings before the High Court are shocking. The court has also issued notice in the plea.

The case, will now come up for hearing on September 1, 2022.

Case title: Venkateswara Global School Vs Justice For all