No action (for now) against private schools for failing to set up fee committee: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court on Monday directed the Delhi government not to take any action till February 20 against private schools that have failed to constitute fee monitoring committees. .A Division Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia said that no prejudice will be caused to any party if the government does not insist on the constitution of school-level fee regulation committee (SLFRC) till February 20, when the Court will be deciding schools’ application seeking a stay on the government notification issued on February 1. According to the government notification, the deadline to constitute the SLFRC was to end on February 10. “Accordingly, we provide that till the next date of listing of the application for stay, those schools that have not constituted the school-level committee shall not be insisted upon to constitute the committee,” the Bench ordered. The Court also issued notices on the schools’ plea challenging the notification and the stay application..The Court was dealing with a batch of petitions filed by the city’s private schools challenging the February 1 notification of the government. The notification published in the gazette on February 1 and titled Delhi School Education (Removal of Difficulties) Order, 2026, directs the constitution of the committees within ten days from the date of publication. Further, the order directs the school management to submit details of the proposed fee for the next block of three academic years starting from 2026-2027, within 14 days.The schools have argued that this order, intended to “remove difficulties”, overrides the parent act, Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Act, 2025, by advancing the date for the constitution of SLFRC.It is the schools’ case that while the act says the committees are to be constituted by July 15, the order mandates it to be done by February 10. .Notably, the schools earlier approached the High Court challenging the December 24, 2025, notification of the government directing the schools to constitute the SLFRCs by 10 January 2026 and applying the free regulation act and rules to the academic session 2025-26. On January 9, 2026, the High Court issued notices in the matter and extended the time to constitute the committees to January 20. Meanwhile, the government withdrew the December 2025 circular and issued the February 1 notification. As the schools challenged the High Court order of January 9 before the Supreme Court, the government made a statement that the new fee law will not apply to the 2025-26 academic session. The apex court then disposed of the plea, adding that the challenge to the February 1, 2026, notification may be considered by the High Court. The schools then approached the High Court, which heard the matter today. .Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.