School Fee Default : Bombay High Court Directs School To Release TC To Student; Orders 40 % Fee Discount

The Nagpur Bench passed the order after the father - a flautist at weddings – agreed to pay the fee in instalments, and the school management decided to consider the child's case for a discount on compassionate grounds.

Of the Rs 43,000 payable, the musician would have to deposit Rs. 11,000 immediately, and the court ordered a minimum 40% discount on the remaining amount.

Background

The student said in her plea that they belong to a weaker and backward section of the society, and she studied at the same CBSE school since she was in Std 1, regularly paying fees. However, the situation became grim during the lockdown.

St. Xavier's High School, Nagpur, had barred the teen from online classes in August last year after her father, who lost all means of income due to the pandemic imposed lockdown, couldn't manage to pay the school fee.

The 15-year-old teen filed a writ petition before the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court seeking her mark sheet, school leaving certificate and other documents from the school. She claimed through her father that she might lose the provisional admission secured elsewhere on merit if she didn't submit the documents.

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On Thursday, the petitioner's counsel Gauri Venkatraman assisted by Prasad Gupta submitted that the father would pay the entire fee instalments within six months and deposit Rs. 11,000 immediately. She urged the school to consider Rs. 18,000 paid while securing the child's admission a decade ago, to be adjusted in the balance fee.

Ryan International Group of Institutions that manages the school assured an appropriate discount to the petitioner since the father is a 'flute artist'. They agreed to issue the transfer certificate immediately and the mark-list once the school received it from the Board.

The court ordered at least a 40% discount on the balance fee as a special case and said the order should not be treated as a precedent.

"The school management shall give appropriate discount to the petitioner from the outstanding amount of the fee payable by the petitioner to the school and this discount, in our view, may not be less than 40% of the outstanding balance of fee, as a special case, considering the facts and circumstances peculiar to this case, which concession shall not be treated as precedent for the future cases."