Dikhyaa Mohanty 
There is no respite for parents who are concerned about the expenses of providing comfort to their school-age children while the Indian summer heats up and torments individuals of all ages. A lawsuit against a private school’s ability to charge for air conditioning in classrooms was recently dismissed by the Delhi High Court. The top court ruled that parents are responsible for covering the expense of providing air conditioning services to their school-age children.
Manish Goel had said in his appeal that Maharaja Agrasain Public School’s Rs 2,000 monthly AC fee was irrational and sought the Directorate of Education (DoE) to step in. According to him, school administration is responsible for providing air conditioning in the classrooms. He argued that the petitioner shouldn’t be forced to foot the bill because imposing this fee on kids violates Rule 154 of the Delhi School Education Rules, 1973.
Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet PS Arora, who make up the two-judge bench, disagreed with that claim and equated the AC price to other fees that schools impose.
“The air conditioning facility is no different from other charges such as lab and smart class fee levied by the schools. The financial burden of providing such facilities cannot be fastened on the school management alone, parents must also be mindful of the facilities and the cost of the facilities provided to their children,” when choosing a school, the court stated.
The Delhi government is looking into the matter, the DoE informed the court, and they have requested a report on the actions done in response to several complaints. The court dismissed the petition because it was not maintainable after taking the submissions into account.
“The Annexure P-2 filed with this petition is the Fee Receipt issued by Respondent No. 5 School for the session 2023-24 and it duly records the entry of charges for air-conditioner. There is thus, a presumption that the said charges have been raised after apprising the DoE of the fee and charge schedule. In view of the admission of the Petitioner that the facility of air conditioning is being provided to the students in the classrooms, prima facie, there is no irregularity in the charge levied by the School,” the court said.
