New Delhi, February 18 The high court on Wednesday sought the Delhi government's response to a public interest litigation (PIL) aimed at ensuring regular audits of the accounts of recognized private, unaided schools in the national capital.
A bench comprising Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia issued notice to the Delhi government and granted it six weeks to file its response to the plea by the NGO, Justice for All.
The petitioner argued that the authorities were in violation of the statutory mandate under the Delhi School Education Act, which requires regular audits of the accounts of recognized private, unaided schools.
The plea stated that this lack of accountability and transparency allowed private schools to engage in rampant commercialization of education and to profit by charging exorbitant and arbitrary fees.
The plea further argued that conducting audits was the only effective way to ensure that the funds collected from students were being used for the betterment of the school and were not being diverted for personal gain.
"It is a matter of record that even after conducting inspections of over 1,624 private, unaided schools, Respondent No. 2 (CAG) has failed to conduct a single audit of their accounts, thereby rendering the entire exercise futile," the petition stated.
"In the last two years alone, many private schools have increased their fees by up to 200%, causing immense financial hardship and panic among parents. This situation has been further exacerbated by the decision of Respondent No. 1 (Delhi government) to withhold the implementation of the newly enacted Delhi Fee Regulation Act, 2025, for the current academic session, thereby removing a crucial layer of protection against such exploitation," it added.
The matter will be heard again on April 22.
