High Court reprimands City schools for violating norms

The High Court on Wednesday summoned the school principals of Vidayniketan and Vidyashilp in a petition filed by students seeking admissions under the Right to Education Act.

Justice S Abdul Nazeer observed that the said schools seem to have not obeyed any of the rules and seem to be running a separate republic of their own. The petitioners’ advocate submitted that the said schools are violating several rules of the of the Karnataka Education (Classification, Regulation and Prescription of Curricula etc) Rule, 1995 where the school has failed to declare the number of intake seats to the competent authority.

During the hearing, it was found that Vidyashilp school had admitted around 219 students as against their intake number of 165 seats. The bench took the school admission register into the court's possession and said that it will be returned only after the case is disposed.

The petitioner's advocate said that the schools are claiming minority status combining two languages Konkani and Kutchi language (language spoken in Kutch in Gujarat). The advocate representing the school said that they are not in a position to admit more students with the existing infrastructure. 

Advocate General Ravivarma Kumar submitted to the court that the state government had recently reduced the percentage of students from 75 to 25 per cent to obtain the status of minority for primary schools run by linguistic and religious minority managements. S Mithun and 23 other students have approached the court seeking admissions for first standard under the Right to Education Act.

Petition disposed

The High Court of Karnataka on Wednesday disposed of the petition filed by Udupi-Chikmagalur MP Shobha Karandlaje challenging the proceedings initiated against her under the Preventional of Money Laundering Act, 2002. Justice Ram Mohan Reddy directed the petitioner to approach the adjudicating authority in Delhi, where the hearing is scheduled for July 10.

Karandlaje had challenged the provisional attachment of Rs 70 lakh that was found by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in her Federal Bank account in RT Nagar branch, in connection with the KIADB scam. Former minister Katta Subramanya Naidu and his family members have been chargesheeted in the case.

Karandlaje had contended that she was in urgent need of money in 2007 and Naidu had lent her the sum by transfering the amount from the account of Indu Builder, owned by Naidu’s son. She did not produce any records to substantiate her claim that she had repaid the money.