Chandigarh, May 21
The Punjab and Haryana High Court had made it clear that directions have been issued to Haryana for carrying out a survey before initiating action against schools running without authority. In the case of violation of the directions, the Financial Secretary-cum-Principal Secretary, Education Department, could be approached.
The assertion by a Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Jasbir Singh and Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain came on a petition filed by Krishan Kumar against Haryana and other respondents.
He was seeking directions to the official respondents to take action against a school management for running an institute without obtaining permission under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009.
Taking up the matter, the Bench asserted: "For the purpose, the requisite direction has already been issued by this court in civil writ petition No 15225 of 2012 (Manoj Kumar Jaswal versus state of Haryana), wherein the government has been directed to conduct a survey; and if during the survey it is found that any school is being run without any authority, take action against that school".
The Bench added the present writ petition was as such being disposed of by giving liberty to the petitioner to approach the Financial Secretary-cum-Principal Secretary, Education Department, Haryana.
In Manoj Kumar's case, the petitioner had claimed schools were running in Faridabad without recognition. It is specifically stated that recognition was necessary under the provisions of Section 18 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009. Taking up the matter, the Bench had directed the Financial Secretary-cum-Principal Secretary "to conduct a survey in the entire state to ensure that no school is established/allowed to function in violation of the provisions of Section 18 of the Act as well as the provisions of the Haryana School Education Act, 1995.
