The Delhi High Court on Thursday declined to stay a recent government notification mandating the constitution of fee regulation committees in all private schools across the national capital. However, it granted a brief extension in the timeline for setting up the panels and submitting fee proposals under the new regulatory framework.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia issued notice to the Delhi Government’s Directorate of Education (DoE) and the Lieutenant Governor on a batch of petitions challenging the Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Act, 2025, as well as its implementing rules and the related notification dated December 24, 2025.
While refusing to stay the December 24 notification, the bench allowed schools additional time to comply. The deadline for forming the School-Level Fee Regulation Committee (SLFRC) has been extended from January 10 to January 20, and the deadline for submission of proposed fee structures by school managements has been pushed from January 25 to February 5.
The court clarified that any action undertaken pursuant to the December 24 notification will be subject to further court orders.
“In the meantime, as an interim measure, we provide that any exercise undertaken in terms of the impugned notification… shall be subject to further orders passed in these petitions,” the bench noted.
The challenged legislation introduces a two-tier mechanism for fee regulation:
- School-Level Fee Regulation Committees (SLFRCs)
- District-Level Appellate Authorities
Under this structure, each private school is required to form an SLFRC consisting of:
- School management representatives
- Principal
- Three teachers
- Five parents
- One nominee from the Directorate of Education
Members are to be selected through a lottery system under the supervision of designated observers to ensure transparency. The SLFRC is tasked with reviewing fee proposals submitted by schools and rendering a decision within 30 days.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing the Action Committee Unaided Recognised Private Schools, argued that both the Act and the notification suffer from constitutional infirmities and infringe upon the fundamental rights of private school managements. He submitted that:
- The notification was issued by the Directorate of Education instead of the Lieutenant Governor, rendering it legally unsustainable.
- The law and its implementation are arbitrary, mala fide, and reflect a non-application of mind.
Rohatgi urged the court either to stay the notification or pass orders protecting schools from coercive action.
In response, Senior advocate S.V. Raju, appearing for the Directorate of Education, contended that the DoE was empowered to issue the notification. After consulting officials, he agreed to the court’s proposal to extend the compliance deadlines.
The Action Committee’s petition, filed through advocate Kamal Gupta, alleged that the new fee regulation regime is “biased, arbitrary and malicious in nature” and sought its quashing.
The bench has sought replies from the Delhi Government and the Lieutenant Governor. The matter is expected to come up for further hearing after the responses are filed.
The Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Act, 2025 was enacted to curb arbitrary fee hikes and bring transparency in private school fee structures across the city. However, the law has been met with resistance from private unaided schools, which view it as an excessive regulatory interference.
