IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT : THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE S.SIRI JAGAN WEDNESDAY, THE 6TH AUGUST 2008 / 15TH SRAVANA 1930 WP(C).No. 21766 of 2008(N) -------------------------- PETITIONERS: ---------------- 1. BHAVANS SCHOOLS PARENTS ASSOCIATION, ER 279/08, REGD OFFICE, A2 B & B BUILDINGS POWER HOUSE ROAD, PALARIVATTOM, COCHIN-25 REP. BY THE SECRETARY, SRI.SANTHOSH KUMAR.M. 2. RAJIV.N., VETTATH HOUSE, VENNALA P.O COCHIN - 28. BY ADV. SRI.GEORGE THOMAS (MEVADA) RESPONDENTS: -------------------- 1. THE CENTRAL BOARD OF SECONDARY EDUCATION REP. BY ITS SECRETARY, 2 COMMUNITY CENTRE, SHIKSHA KENDRA, PREET VIHAR, NEW DELHI. 2. THE REGIONAL OFFICER, CENTRAL BOARD OF SECONDARY EDUCATION, REGIONAL OFFICE, J BLOCK, 16TH MAIN ROAD, ANNA NAGAR WEST - CHENNAI 40. 3. BHAVANS VIDYABHAVAN, KOCHI KENDRA, T.D.ROAD, ERNAKULAM, KOCHI-11 REP. BY ITS SECRETARY. 4. THE PRINCIPAL, BHAVANS VIDYA MANDIR, GIRI NAGAR, KOCHI-16. 5. THE PRINCIPAL, BHAVANS VARUNA VIDYALAYA, THRIKKAKARA, KOCHI. 6. THE PRINCIPAL, BHAVANS MUNSHI VIDYA ASRAM, THIRUVAMKULAM. WP(C).No. 21766 of 2008(N) 7. THE PRINCIPAL, BHAVANS VIDYAMANDIR, EROOR. 8. THE PRINCIPAL, BHAVANS ADRASH VIDYALAYA, KAKKANAD. 9. THE PRINCIPAL, BHAVANS NEWSPRINT VIDYALAYA, NEWSPRINT NAGAR VELLOOR. BY SRI. DEVAN RAMACHANDRAN SRI. V.V. ASOKAN. THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 06/08/2008, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING: S. SIRI JAGAN, J. ------------------------------------ W.P.(C)No.21766 OF 2008 ---------------------------------------- Dated this the 6th day of August, 2008 JUDGMENT The 1st petitioner is an Association of parents and teachers of students of respondents 4 to 9 Schools managed by the 3rd respondent and the 2nd petitioner is the parent of a student in one of the said Schools. Their grievance in this writ petition is regarding fixation of fees for students which according to them has been fixed against the affiliation bye-laws issued by the Central Board of Secondary Education. Complaining about the same, the petitioners have filed Ext.P6 series complaints before the 1st respondent. The petitioners seek a direction to the 1st respondent to consider and pass orders on the same. 2. This is objected to by the learned counsel for respondents 3 to 9. According to him, the contention of the petitioners are without any merit whatsoever and they want to impose their conditions on the management of the Schools for the purpose of fixation of fees, which cannot be permitted under W.P.(c)No.21766/08 2 law. According to him, fixation of fees is a prerogative of the management of the schools which has also been approved by the PTA recognised by the Schools. He would strongly dispute the authenticity of the income and expenditure statement produced by the petitioners, which according to him, is not on the basis of any official records. He would submit that the schools maintain their own audited accounts. Therefore, the statements now produced by the petitioners cannot be relied upon. He also raises an apprehension that if this Court directs the 1st respondent or the 2nd respondent to consider Ext.P6 series, they would consider the same as a direction to consider the claim of the petitioner based on the statements now produced by the petitioner. He, therefore, objects to the prayers made by the petitioners in this writ petition. 3. I have considered the rival contentions in detail. In so far as respondents 3 to 9 are to run the schools in accordance with the affiliation bye-laws of the Central Board of Secondary Education, the Central Board of Secondary Education has a duty to ascertain whether respondents 3 to 9 W.P.(c)No.21766/08 3 are running the schools in accordance with the affiliation bye- laws. That being so when an aggrieved person files a petition before the 1st respondent or the 2nd respondent they have a duty to consider the same in accordance with the affiliation bye-laws. Therefore, the petitioners are entitled to have their complaint examined by the 1st respondent or the 2nd respondent. In fact in an earlier writ petition, I had directed consideration another set of complaints filed by the 1st petitioner along with another petitioner. The petitioners point out that, that is in respect of only one School and they have now filed Ext.P6 series in respect of all the Schools namely respondents 4 to 9. In the above circumstances, I dispose of this writ petition with a direction to either of respondents 1 and 2 to consider and pass appropriate orders on Ext.P6 series of petitions filed by the petitioners as expeditiously as possible, at any rate, within a period of three months from the date of receipt of a copy of this judgment, after affording an opportunity of being heard to the petitioners and respondents 3 to 9. However, I W.P.(c)No.21766/08 4 make it clear that I have not considered the reliability of any of the materials produced by the petitioners along with Ext.P6 series petitions and it would be open to the 1st or the 2nd respondent to consider the reliability of the same also taking into account the objections of respondents 3 to 9 in respect of those materials. S. SIRI JAGAN, JUDGE Acd W.P.(c)No.21766/08 5