DPS Dwarka Takes U-Turn As Delhi HC Set To Rule On Student Expulsion Case: "We Have Withdrawn The Suspension Order"

Delhi High Court will soon announce judgment in DPS Dwarka fee protest case. Over 30 students were suspended for protesting a fee hike, but the school has now taken back the suspension.

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DPS Dwarka Takes U-Turn as Delhi HC Set to Rule on Student Expulsion Case: "We Have Withdrawn the Suspension Order"

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court is all set to give its final decision in a petition filed by parents of more than 30 students who were suspended from Delhi Public School (DPS), Dwarka. These students were suspended after they protested against the school’s decision to increase the fees.

The case was heard by Justice Sachin Datta, who confirmed that he will soon announce the judgment. The matter has become very serious, as it involves the rights of students and their education.

During today’s court hearing, the advocate from the school informed the court that DPS Dwarka has taken back the suspension of the students.

The lawyer clearly said,

“We have withdrawn the suspension order and submitted an affidavit confirming this on Monday.”

Hearing this, Justice Datta responded,

“I will take note of the withdrawal and issue an appropriate order accordingly.”

The final court order will be uploaded soon on the official website of the Delhi High Court, as confirmed in the courtroom.

Earlier in Delhi HC: “Reinstate Expelled Students if Parents Pay 50% of Hiked Fees”

The Delhi High Court earlier said that students who were recently removed from Delhi Public School (DPS), Dwarka due to non-payment of increased school fees must be allowed to come back to their classes. But this will happen only if their parents pay 50% of the increased (hiked) fee amount.

The Hon’ble Justice Vikas Mahajan gave this interim order. He made it clear that the 50% rebate is only on the increased part of the fee, not the original base fee. The full base fee still has to be paid by the parents.

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The Court said:

“It is directed that the wards of the petitioners shall be allowed to continue their studies in their respective classes till the pendency of the present petition subject to the parents depositing 50% of the hiked school fee for the academic years 2024-25 onwards.”

This order came while the Court was hearing a case filed by the parents of children who were recently expelled from DPS Dwarka because they could not pay the increased school fees.

The parents told the Court that they had questioned the school’s decision to increase the fees for the 2024-25 academic year. They also said that the school did not follow the earlier orders of the Department of Education (DoE).

The parents also shared a shocking claim. They said that the school had placed bouncers at the gate to stop students from entering when the increased fees were not paid. They said this goes against the earlier High Court orders, which were meant to protect students’ rights.

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They further told the Court that DPS Dwarka has not yet returned the extra fee it had charged illegally, despite DoE’s direction.

Parents also alleged that the school was mentally harassing both students and their families by:

Asking for the increased fees again and again,
Removing the students’ names from the school records,
Not letting students who hadn’t paid the hiked fee attend their classes.

In a previous order dated May 16, the Court clearly stated that students should not be treated unfairly or punished just because their parents didn’t pay the increased fees. However, the Court also said that the school is allowed to increase fees, as long as the DoE approves it.

The Court explained:

“Until and unless the DoE reviews the financial statements of the school and on its findings, rejects the statement of fee providing for enhancement for the academic sessions 2024-25 onwards on the touch stone of ‘profiteering’ and ‘commercialisation’ of education, the enunciation of law as noted above does not provide for any embargo on such enhancement of fee.”

So for now, the Court has told parents to pay only 50% of the hiked part of the fees until the DoE makes a final decision. The Court also said that any earlier extra amount collected by the school for the year 2023-2024 must be adjusted while calculating the pending dues of each student.

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The next hearing in the case will be on August 28.

Lawyers for the Parents: Manish Gupta, Sandeep Gupta, Deepti Verma, Rishabh Rai, and Yeshraj.

Lawyers for DPS Dwarka: Senior Advocates Pinaki Misra and Puneet Mittal, along with Bhuvan Gugnani, Sakshi Mendiratta, Sameer Vatts, Abhisumat Gupta, Rupender Sharma, and Nupur Mantoo.