A division bench of Calcutta High Court on Friday issued an interim order directing school authorities not to expel any student from school for non-payment of fees without permission from the court.

The order by Justice I P Mukerji and Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya read: “We make it absolutely clear and direct that not a single student of any of the 145 schools involved in these litigations, will be expelled on the ground of non-payment or short payment of fees or facility charges without the express leave of this court, until further orders.”

The 145 private schools are those who were made respondents in the original petition.

In May last year, PILs were filed before Calcutta High Court alleging that private schools were not allowing students in online classes or to appear for online exams for failure of guardians to pay the fees.

The high court will hear the case on April 16.

The bench comprising Justice I.P. Mukerji and Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya postponed the hearing because a petition by the schools against an earlier high court order of fee waiver and a fee dispute redressal mechanism is pending before the Supreme Court.

The apex court will hear the case on April 5.

As a precaution against Covid-19 on-campus classes in schools had to remain suspended and schools were taking online exams and classes.

The high court on October 13 ordered private schools, including those run by the Church, to waive 20 per cent of tuition fees of students. The bench of Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya also restrained the schools from charging fees on non-academic heads like “laboratory, craft, sporting facilities or extra curricular activities or the like...” “Non-essential charges for use of facilities not availed of will not be permissible,” the order said.

The order for concession will not apply to any school “where the average monthly fee (calculated on an annual basis over the year from April 2020 to March 2021) is less than Rs 800. However, such schools may voluntarily offer discounts as they deem fit, the order had said.

After the order some schools moved Supreme Court seeking quashing of the order of the high court.

On October 28, the Supreme Court declined to immediately interfere with Calcutta High Court’s directions to private schools in Bengal to waive 20 per cent of their tuition fee and completely waive the fees charged for services the students did not avail themselves of because of the pandemic.

But the apex court stayed portions of the judgment that asked schools to consider individual applications from parents for further waiver and allowed parents to approach a committee formed by the high court if they did not get redress from the schools.

Appearing for Assembly of God Church , advocate Amrita Pandey claimed that Supreme Court, while hearing a case moved by a Rajasthan school had ordered that guardians would have pay the school fees.

But the division bench on Friday decided to take the matter for hearing only after verifying the apex court's decision and fixed the matter for hearing on April 16.