The Delhi High Court has directed the Delhi government not to take any action for now against private schools that failed to form fee monitoring committees. The interim protection will continue till February 20, when the court will hear the schools’ challenge to the February 1 notification.
The Delhi High Court on Monday directed the Delhi government not to take any coercive or penal action against private schools that have not yet formed fee monitoring committees, till February 20.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia observed that no party would suffer any harm if the government temporarily pauses its insistence on the formation of school-level fee regulation committees (SLFRCs).
The Court clarified that this protection will continue till February 20, the date on which it will hear and decide the schools’ application seeking a stay on the government’s February 1 notification.
The Bench stated,
“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.”
As per the government notification dated February 1, private schools were required to constitute their SLFRCs within ten days, with the deadline ending on February 10. However, several schools failed to meet this timeline and approached the High Court seeking relief.
Passing an interim order, the Court clearly directed that the government should not compel such schools to form the committees until the matter is heard again. The Bench recorded in its order,
“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 High Court also issued notices to the Delhi government on both the main petitions filed by private schools challenging the notification, as well as on their application seeking an interim stay on its implementation.
The matter arises from a batch of petitions filed by private unaided schools in Delhi questioning the legality of the February 1 notification issued by the government. The notification, published in the official gazette and titled Delhi School Education (Removal of Difficulties) Order, 2026, directs all private schools to constitute SLFRCs within ten days from the date of its publication.
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In addition to forming the committees, the notification also requires school managements to submit details of their proposed fee structure for the next block of three academic years starting from 2026–2027, within a period of 14 days.
The schools have strongly opposed the notification, arguing that it goes beyond its stated purpose of “removing difficulties” and instead overrides the parent legislation, namely the Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Act, 2025.
According to the schools, the Act clearly provides that school-level fee regulation committees are required to be constituted by July 15 every year. However, the February 1 order advances this timeline drastically, mandating compliance by February 10, which the schools argue is contrary to the statutory framework.
This is not the first time the issue has reached the High Court. Earlier, the private schools had challenged a December 24, 2025 notification issued by the Delhi government, which had similarly directed schools to constitute SLFRCs by January 10, 2026, and sought to apply the fee regulation law and rules to the academic session 2025–26.
On January 9, 2026, the High Court had issued notices in that matter and extended the deadline for forming the committees till January 20. Subsequently, the Delhi government withdrew the December 2025 circular and replaced it with the February 1 notification, which again became the subject of challenge.
Meanwhile, the schools had also approached the Supreme Court of India against the High Court’s January 9 order. During those proceedings, the Delhi government made a statement before the apex court that the new fee regulation law would not be applied to the academic session 2025–26.
Recording this assurance, the Supreme Court disposed of the schools’ plea and clarified that the challenge to the February 1, 2026 notification could be examined by the Delhi High Court. Following this, the schools once again moved the High Court, leading to the hearing and interim protection granted on Monday.
The matter will now be taken up again on February 20, when the High Court is expected to consider whether the February 1 notification should be stayed or modified.
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