Parents should bear cost of air conditioning facility in school: Delhi HC
New Delhi (PTI): The cost of air conditioning in school has to be borne by the parents as it is a facility being provided to the students, which is no different from the other charges such as laboratory fee, the Delhi High Court has said.
A bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) against a private school charging Rs 2,000 per month for the air conditioning in classes and stated that such financial burden cannot be fastened on the school management alone and parents should be mindful of the facilities and their cost while selecting a school.
The petitioner, whose ward studied in class 9 in the private school, argued that the obligation to provide air conditioning facilities to the students rests with the management and it should, therefore, be provided by them from their own funds and resources.
Noting that the fee receipt duly records the entry of charges for air conditioning which is admittedly being provided to the students, the court opined that prima facie there is no irregularity in the charge levied by the school.
“The costs of air conditioning services provided to the children in the school have to be borne by the parents as it is a facility provided to the children and is no different from the other charges such as laboratory fee and smart class fee levied. The parents, while selecting the school, have to be mindful of the facilities and the cost of the facilities provided to children in school.
“The financial burden of providing such facilities cannot be fastened on the school management alone,” the bench, also comprising Justice Manmeet PS Arora, said in an order passed on May 2.
The court observed that the Directorate of Education was also seized of the issue after it received complaints and the petition was not maintainable.
“We are, therefore, not inclined to entertain the present PIL and the same is dismissed,” the court concluded.
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Hours after Kharge's snub, Bengal Cong chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury sticks to his anti-Mamata stance
Kolkata, May 18: In a veiled reference to West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said he cannot speak in favour of someone who wants to finish him politically and his party in the state.
His comment comes hours after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge asserted that Chowdhury is no one to take a decision on whether Banerjee would be part of the INDIA bloc in the event of the anti-BJP alliance coming to power after the Lok Sabha polls.
Asked about Kharge’s statement, Chowdhury, who is seeking re-election from Baharampur on a Congress ticket, said, “I cannot speak in favour of someone who wants to finish me politically and our party in Bengal. This is a battle for every Congress worker. I have spoken on their behalf.”
Stating that his opposition to Banerjee stemmed from his principled stance, not from his interest, Chowdhury said “There is no personal grudge but I question her political ethics."
Asked about Mamata Banerjee's comment that she will support the INDIA bloc government from the outside and Chowdhury's remark that the Bengal CM cannot be trusted and she might go with the BJP, Kharge told reporters, "Mamata Banerjee is with the alliance. She has recently said that she will join the government. Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary will not take the decision. The decision will be taken by me and the high command those who don't agree will go out."
Chowdhury also alleged that Banerjee had "taken Maoists' help to discredit the Left in Purulia, Bankura and Jhargram and then abandoned them.
“I don’t want the state Congress to be used for her personal agenda and then finish the organisation. If Kharge ji speaks against my views, I will continue to speak for Congressmen at the grassroots in the state.”
The TMC is contesting the Lok Sabha elections alone in the state, while the Congress and the Left are jointly fighting.
