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The Calcutta High Court bench of Justice I.P. Mukherjee and Justice Mousumi Bhattacharya on Friday said that no unaided private school could prevent any student from appearing in an examination for failing to pay at least 80 per cent fees as mentioned by the court in an earlier order. 

The division bench also directed schools to issue admit cards for school exams and publish results of the students whose fees have not been paid.

The Bench was adjudicating upon a bunch of pleas, wherein a group of schools on the pretext of alleged default in the payment of school fees, were not allowing students to avail online classes and their admit cards to appear in the board examination is being withheld. The Court observed that:

“by our earlier orders, which are still continuing, we had directed that pending resolution of the various contentions raised before us, the students should not suffer and that online classes should be continued to be provided to them, no student should be expelled on the ground of non-payment of fees and that admit cards and results should not be withheld on those grounds. We reiterate those directions subject to any order that may be passed by the Supreme Court”

The Court was further disturbed to find that first information reports are being generated by the police and action threatened on complaints have been made concerning non-payment of school fees, expulsion of students etc. and a recommendation has been made by the West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights on 2nd December, 2021 on more or less the same complaints.

Notably, the Court directed that when complaints are received by any authority related to the present subject matter, any contemplated action should and can only be taken with the leave of the High Court. Matter has been adjourned till 17th December, 2021.

Case Title: Rajib Chakraborty & Ors. v. State of West Bengal