New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday reserved its order on a petition seeking protection of the interests of kids enrolled in schools on public property that have been mortgaged and could be sold at auctions by banks due to debt default.
Filed in a form of Public Interest Litigation (PIL), it was listed before the division of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad.
The bench, after hearing the arguments on behalf of the petitioners and the respondents, reserved its order on the petition.
“We will pass appropriate orders. Arguments heard and order reserved,” the bench said.
In the PIL, NGO Justice for All has requested that the court to protect the fundamental right to education guaranteed to over 900 students attending Laxmi Public School in Karkardooma as well as other students attending similar schools whose land has been mortgaged and could one day be sold at auction or sealed due to loan default.
Additionally, it asks the court to issue directives for an investigation into the mortgaged status of Laxmi Public School’s leasehold property.
The land parcel belonged to the government and was given to Laxmi Educational Society under the Government Grants Act for the purpose of operating a school, according to standing counsel Santosh Kumar Tripathi and advocate Arun Panwar, who were representing the Delhi government.
The society was not permitted to deal with the land further under the Transfer of Property Act.
The Delhi government’s goal was to safeguard kids and advance education, and this land was never made accessible to the bank as any other land to be purchased from any institution, Tripathi submitted.
According to the petition, numerous institutions originally bought land for cheap before borrowing money from banks to build five-star facilities.
It claimed that this led to the commercialisation of education and increased competition for expensive education and that these institutions put children’s education at danger by mortgaging the property.
The petition was disputed by the legal counsel for the society and the school, who argued that it was a publicity stunt and that the petitioner had submitted the plea without any support or evidence, and that it should be dismissed with costs.
Things have advanced to the point where the school will be auctioned off to pay back a loan and business regulations are being implemented on school property, which is otherwise public land set aside for public institutions, the petition argues.
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