New Delhi: Delhi High Court Friday sought state govt’s stand on a fresh plea by private schools challenging Directorate of Education’s (DoE) circular to constitute school-level fee regulation committees (SLFRC) in connection with the latest fee regulation law.A bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia issued notice on applications by the schools and asked govt to respond, but kept the matter for detailed hearing on the date already fixed. Even as the counsel for Action Committee Unaided Recognised Private Schools urged the court to protect them from any coercive action by the authorities over failure to constitute SLFRC, the court said the main case was listed for hearing on July 20 and the petitioner could approach it if any adverse action was taken in the meantime.The applications form part of the petitions assailing Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Act, 2025, on grounds of it being mala fide, biased, arbitrary and malicious.The schools submitted that despite the court putting in abeyance Delhi govt’s Feb mandate to private schools to constitute SLFRC for the ongoing academic session, the authorities issued an “identical” circular on June 30. The fresh circular “reiterates and resurrects” the very same directions to constitute SLFRC and submit the proposals of fee for a block of three years, including the 2026-27 session, they alleged.Additional solicitor general S V Raju, appearing for Delhi govt, submitted that HC did not stay the implementation of the legal mandate to schools to constitute an SLFRC.On Feb 28, the court had deferred the implementation of Delhi govt’s mandate to private schools on SLFRC. Putting the Feb 1 notification in abeyance, the court had said the schools shall be entitled to collect the same fees for the academic year 2026-27 as they did the previous academic year.Under the new framework, every private school has to constitute an SLFRC, which has to include representatives from the school management, the principal, three teachers, five parents and one DoE nominee. The committee will examine fee proposals submitted by the school management and take a decision within 30 days under the law, passed to regulate and bring transparency to the fixation of private school fees.The Act, which has been challenged by several private schools, was notified on Aug 14, 2025, and came into force on Dec 10.
