MADURAI
The Madras High Court Bench here on Tuesday dismissed a public interest litigation petition challenging the decision of Heavy Alloy Penetrator Project (HAPP), Tiruchi, to stop funding HAPF Paramahamsa Matriculation School at HAPF Township and transfer the management to some other educational agency by calling for tenders.
Justices A. Selvam and N. Authinathan said: “It is true that the State is under constitutional mandate to provide education for the benefit of citizens. However, as per the impugned notification dated April 3, 2017, the second respondent (HAPP) has taken steps only to continue the existing school up to Class X from the academic year commencing from June 2017...
“Therefore... the impugned notification does not in any manner violate the right of children to free and compulsory education...
“Collection of fee by schools in Tamil Nadu is regulated by the Tamil Nadu Schools (Regulation of Collection of Fee) Act, 2009. Therefore, the contention of the petitioner that the students have to pay exorbitant fees, if any other institution is permitted to run the school... cannot be accepted.”
The judges also said a writ petition and a writ appeal challenging the tender notification had already been dismissed by the court and while dismissing the writ appeal, another Division Bench of the High Court had categorically held that neither the Centre nor the HAPP could be compelled to run the school.
Authoring the judgement for his Division Bench, Mr. Justice Authinathan said: “The validity of the notification was also upheld by the Division Bench. Therefore, we are not inclined to entertain the challenge made to the earlier notification...”
A local resident, S. Alagar, had filed the PIL petition during the summer vacation sitting last month and obtained an interim stay on the operation of the tender notification. Subsequently, Assistant Solicitor General G.R. Swaminathan filed a vacate stay application on behalf of the HAPP.
The ASG said the school was established by the HAPP in 1988 for the benefit of its employees’ children. The administration of the school was handed over to Sri Ramakrishna Tapovanam. However, the entire expenditure was borne by the HAPP.
Since almost all HAPP employees had admitted their children to a Kendriya Vidyalaya situated close by and because the school was being run only with children of non-employees, the management decided to stop funding the institution and hand over the management to some other educational agency, he added.
