WELFARE COMMITTEE OF PARENTS OF SAINIK SCHOOL NAGROTA Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS petition is by the parents of the children who are students of the Sainik School Nagrota. They have challenged the order dated 18 -06 -1999 raising tuition fee from Rs. 14000/ - to Rs. 20,000/ - per annum with effect from academic session 1999 -2000. The petitioners have challenged upward revision of tuition fee inter -alia on the grounds that the increase does not take into account the economic condition of the parents and the object for which the Sainik School was established It has also ignored the fact that the State Government has refused to increase the rate of the scholarship to the middle income group. The increase, it is further alleged is also not based on the actual expenditure being incurred by the School

(2.) THE stand of the respondents is that the fee has been raised on the basis of recommendation of Expert Committee comprising of Financial Advisor, Joint Secretary Training and Chief Administrative Officer, Ministry of Defence and Joint Education Advisor, Ministry of Defence and Joint Educational Advisor, Department of Education and Education Secretaries of 8 States. It was on the basis of this recommendation that the tuition fee has been raised from Rs. 14,000/ - to Rs 20,000/ - with effect from academic year 1999 -2000. Further stand of the respondents is that the total income from the fee and scholarship in respect of the school prior to being only Rs.64 lakhs as against the actual expenditure of Rupees one crore. The revision is justified to cover the deficit. The contention of Mr. Thakur is that the increase is arbitrary and has no nexus with the object for which the School was set up. He also argued unless the income and expenditure statement is furnished by the respondents the increase cannot be permitted. His further argument is that State Government has not disclosed its stand regarding enhancement of scholarships and therefore, the petitioners are not liable to pay the increased fee.

(3.) THE argument of Mr. Thakur is that judgment is based on the budget estimates which the management of the Sainik Schools in Orissa has produced. Since no such estimates have been produced in this case, reliance argued the learned counsel cannot be placed on the judgment. However, as the question of enhancement of tuition fee in all the Sainik Schools throughout the country has been examined by the High Court of Orissa in quite some details, it is not necessary to examine budget estimate for every school. The Committee set up by the Board has examined the financial position of all the schools, before recommending enhancement of tuition fee and mess fee This fact is stated in para IV and V of the brief history given in the return filed by the respondents. These are reproduced below: -