Bombay HC refers Mazgaon school e-class row to state panel – Times of India

MUMBAI: Bombay high court (HC) has referred to a state-appointed grievance redress committee a dispute between a school management and a parent whose two kids were denied access to online classes for non-payment of fees.
The father of the two students of Diamond Jubilee High School, Mazgaon, had moved HC over the “irrational hike of fees” and to direct that it reconsider the hike due to the pandemic. On June 10, while allowing the students to attend classes and the father to undertake t o pay fees due if he fails in his petition, Justices Nitin Jamdar and Chandrakant Bhadang asked the state to inform if the committee constituted to look into fee disputes will also decide such cases. They said, “Several such petitions are coming to court and it is not possible to decide cases of individual students.”
The state’s advocate on June 24 said there is a four-member committee constituted for Mumbai at Navi Mumbai to look into various grievances and disputes that arise between parents and school managements. Also, that the “present issue [denial of onlines classes]” can be looked into and resolved by the panel.
Advocates R Sathyanarayanan and Nandini Menon, for the father and school respectively, said that their clients will go before the committee. But Menon said it must be open to the school to challenge maintainability of the issues before the committee.
“Get it resolved. Are you interested in litigating? What difference which authority resolves the issue?” asked Justice Jamdar.
The judges directed the committee to consider the petition and school’s reply to redress the grievances and to inform the parties of a date for their interaction. Posting the next hearing on August 5, they allowed the parties “to place the outcome ofthe interaction before the court.”