Court issues notice for overcharging disabled students

 The Delhi High Court Monday issued notice to the city government on a public interest litigation (PIL) that alleged a private school in the capital has been charging higher fees from students with disabilities as compared to other students.

A division bench of Chief Justice D. Murugesan and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw sought response from the director of education (DoE) and Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan's Mehta Vidyalaya at Kasturba Gandhi Marg, in New Delhi area, to a petition that said 38-39 percent higher fees were charged from students with disabilities.

The court posted the matter for hearing Nov 21.

The court was hearing the PIL filed by NGO Social Jurist through advocate Ashok Agarwal seeking direction to the school to stop over-charging disabled students and refund excess money collected from them over the last three years.

The petition said that "Students with disabilities were charged fees and other charges around 38-39 percent higher than what was charged from general students in the academic year 2012-13".

"A Class 4 student with disabilities was charged a tuition fee of Rs.44,640 and a general student of the same class was charged Rs.32,160 during 2012-13," the petition said.

Over-charging disabled students was "totally illegal, unjust and against the provisions of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, and the provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities," the petition said.
The school has 80 students with disabilities, advocate Agarwal said.