IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

CM NO. 3073 OF 2005

IN

WP(C) NO. 15436-39 OF 2004

IN THE MATTER OF:

The Action Committee, Un-aided Private Schools .. Petitioners

Versus

The Director of Education, Delhi and others .. Respondents

AND IN THE MATTER OF:

Master Plan Implementation Support Group, through its Planner, Gita Dewan Verma 1356, D-I Vasant Kunj, New Delhi - 110070 .. Applicant / Intervener

APPLICATION ON BEHALF OF THE APPLICANT/ INTERVENER UNDER ARTICLE 226 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA READ WITH SECTION 151 CODE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE FOR LEAVE TO INTERVENE IN THE ABOVE MENTIONED WRIT PETITION

MOST RESPECTFULLY SHOWETH:

  1. That the applicant is the Petitioner in W.P.(C) NO. 8954/2003 – the first of clutch of PILs, W.P.( C ) Nos. 8954-59/2003, that prayed for directions for steps to enforce (in the neighbourhood of Vasant Kunj) the equal access neighbourhood school system stipulated in Delhi Master Plan (hereinafter referred as ‘DMP’) under the Delhi Development Act, 1957, and against violations getting in the way of this – and seeks this Hon’ble Court’s permission to intervene in the instant matter to protect the relief granted in that PIL by this Hon’ble Court by its Order of 27.10.2004 passed in W.P.( C ) Nos. 8954-59 of 2003 for legal actions against violations in 12 weeks, a true copy of which is annexed herewith and marked as Annexure - I. R. -1.
  2. That the contention of WP (C) Nos.8954-59/2003 is that mandatory ‘DMP’ provisions for school sites articulate a statutory scheme consonant with the Neighbourhood School Plan recommended by ‘Kothari Commission’, from which (and not Delhi Education Act or policy of cheap land allotment for facilities) flows the free-seats lease condition and that violation of this cannot be rectified in isolation since it is a tail-end violation in sequential violations of the larger scheme, starting with sites meant for smaller schools being used for larger schools, which leads to excess of overall supply that draws on city-wide ‘market’ (by violating distance standards and lease conditions for local enrolment), which allows schools to charge fees unrelated to affordability levels in the neighbourhood and makes the free-seats condition impracticable.
  3. That counter-affidavits in WP(C) 8954-9/2003 reveal that violations of statutory ‘DMP’ scheme owe largely to illegal recommendations and permissions to private schools by Govt. of NCT of Delhi (hereinafter ‘GNCTD’) and failure of Delhi Development Authority (hereinafter ‘DDA’) to intervene in so-called norms in contravention of ‘DMP’ to allow misuse of sites meant and needed, and often leased in name of President of India, for neighbourhood education for all children, including the poor, and that this makes for genuine apprehension about continuing free-seats litigation being a ploy to divert attention from substantive illegalities by authorities and some schools while making education for the poor “controversial” to justify “options” other than rectification of illegalities.
  4. That the authorities are seized of these apprehensions in the context of the instant matter since the applicant, after coming across news items about it, wrote to ‘GNCTD’, Chief Secretary and ‘DDA’ Vice Chairman (in continuation of letter of 28.12.2004 for steps for progressive implementation of the ‘DMP’ scheme in context of Order of 27.10.2004) on 03.02.2005 and on 09.02.2005. True typed copies of these as well as of letter of 04.02.2005 from Deputy Director Education and applicant’s reply of 07.02.2005 to it and are annexed herewith as Annexure - I. R. -2 (Colly).
  5. That these apprehensions were also raised in letters written to Hon’ble President of India after the 12 weeks allowed by Order of 27.10.2004 elapsed without compliance. True typed copies of letters from convenor of Petitioner in WP 8955/2003, a students-parents forum in bastis, and on behalf of present/former students of an MCD school by Petitioner in WP 8956/2003 (forwarded for appropriate action to ‘GNCTD’ Chief Secretary as per President Secretariat’s letters Nos P2-1067458 and P2-1067459 of 04.02.2005) and prior letter of 19.02.2005 from the applicant to the President are annexed herewith as Annexure - I. R. -3 (Colly).
  6. That the Petitioner in the instant matter would also be seized of the Order of 27.10.2004 through the applicant’s letters to Vasant Kunj schools, including Delhi Public School (‘DPS’), and while ‘DPS’ did not respond to the same others did and one even called a meeting of schools in the area on 08.02.2004, true copy of the applicant’s note for which is annexed herewith as Annexure-- I. R. -4.
  7. That another Intervener applicant in the instant matter, viz, ‘Social Jurist’, is also seized of the aforesaid contentions through the applicant’s communications and while its intervention application (on which this Hon’ble court has issued notice as per news report of 22.02.2005) says, as per the text available on its website, that Social Jurist “wishes to intervene in the above writ petition to oppose the same and to assist this Hon'ble Court both on questions of facts and law”, it does not mention any facts other than those already dealt with in its PIL and defends the GNCTD directive arising from it and challenged in the instant matter with no reference to the relevant law, viz, ‘DMP’ / Delhi Development Act.
  8. That apropos the ‘GNCTD’ directive it is submitted that it is in clear violation of ‘DMP’ / Delhi Development Act, 1957, since the local-enrolment based ‘DMP’ scheme contemplates 25% (not 20%) free seats for economically weaker section (not necessarily BPL) in line with mandatory ‘DMP’ provision for integrating 25% EWS families in every community of 1 lakh population and while individual leases could stipulate varying percentages the overall community level entitlement can be modified only by due process of s.11A for ‘DMP’ modification, which is beyond GNCTD jurisdiction, as is allowing, say, ‘DPS’ RK Puram to enrol poor students from Vasant Kunj in violation of ‘DMP’ distance provisions.
  9. That apropos free-seats “options” at discretion of schools, in context of Order of 27.10.2004 and news reports of the instant matter the applicant’s convener for old bastis in Vasanrt Kunj, wrote on 09.02.2005 to DCP (SW) and Police Commissioner for investigation u/s.34A of Delhi Development Act of ‘DMP’ violation by, among others, so-called free-school called ‘Anubhav Shiksha Kendra’ at ‘DPS’ RK Puram that is neither free (since the few enrolled to it from a basti in Vasant Kunj are charged Rs.50 pm tuition fee and Rs.50 pm bus fee) nor equivalent to school (since it runs for a shorter period) and tantamount to misuse in terms of ‘DMP’ provisions for site and school and that, even as the question of legality of such discretionary options to the free-seats condition is pending before this Hon’ble Court in the instant petition to which ‘DPS’ is party, on 22.02.2005 ‘Anubhav Shiksha Kendra’ hosted “mushaira”, etc, attended by Speaker, PM’s wife and other celebrities. True typed copy of a news report of 23.02.2005 about this is annexed herewith as Annexure I. R. –5.
  10. That in view of the foregoing, the applicant submits that parties in the instant matter are arguing their cases without reference to the relevant law, viz, ‘DMP’ / Delhi Development Act, and that this jeopardizes the relief provided by this Hon’ble Court by Order of 27.10.2004 and efforts that the applicant and others have been making in its context for progressive implementation of the ‘DMP’ scheme / rectification of violations through collaborative initiative of primary stakeholders, viz, communities, schools and authorities, in spirit of Kothari Commission recommendations for Neighbourhood School Plan and the decentralized planning approach envisaged in the 74th Constitutional Amendment.

The applicant, therefore, humbly prays for permission to intervene in this matter and make submissions at the time of arguments.

sd/-

(Gita Dewan Verma) Intervenor-Applicant

Filed through:

sd/- (Ravi Shankar Kumar)Advocate

Dated: 28.02.2005

New Delhi

Annexure--I.R.-1: True copy of Hon’ble High Court’s Order of 27.10.2004 in WP (C) 8954-59/20031

Annexure--I.R.-2 (Colly): Typed true copies of correspondence with GNCTD /DDA

  • (i) Applicant’s letter of 28.12.20042
  • (ii) Applicant’s letter of 03.02.20053
  • (iii) Letter of 04.02.20054
    from Dy Director Education
  • (iv) Applicant’s reply of 07.02.20055
  • (v) Applicant’s letter of 09.02.20056

Annexure--I.R.-3 (Colly): Typed true copies of letters to Hon’ble President

  • (i) Letter of 19.01.2005 from the applicant7
  • (ii) Letter from Petitioner in WP 8956/20038
  • (iii) Letter from Petitioner in WP 8955/20039

Annexure--I.R.-4: Applicant’s note for meeting called by one of the schools10

in Vasant Kunj on 08.02.2005

Annexure--I.R.-5: News item published in Daily Pioneer dated 23.02.200511

  • 1. MPISG PIL WP 8954 OF 2003
    WP 8954 OF 2003 by MPISG through its Planner, adopted by Rangpuri Pahari Vidyarthi Abhibhavak Manch (8955) & Ors

    http://skel.architexturez.net/doc/az-cf-22951

  • 2. Letter to DDA and GNCTD for compliance
    http://skel.architexturez.net/pst/e382d349-ad9a-4e11-a4c6-f838ff01854b
  • 3. Letter to GNCTD and DDA about compliance
    http://skel.architexturez.net/pst/61bb28ff-af1d-4384-a59a-23ecc3f422f2
  • 4. Letter from GNCTD Dy Director of Education (SW-A)
    http://skel.architexturez.net/pst/159dc8bf-9ab9-4f96-bf4c-a696a87cdbf6
  • 5. Response to GNCTD letter of 04/02/2005
    http://skel.architexturez.net/pst/8f9d32d9-0e13-4d31-8a5a-a75df6f73b9c
  • 6. Letter about court stay on GNCTD 20% BPL directive
    http://skel.architexturez.net/pst/f2579cb2-5c1f-407e-a882-4b2c2295a182
  • 7. Petition to President
    http://skel.architexturez.net/pst/8fec439f-5393-4a18-ab7d-7e712aeb6c8c
  • 8. Letter to President from Rajinder Singh (petitioner in WP 8956/2003)
    http://skel.architexturez.net/pst/803e7896-6670-43b6-951a-c70ab7791ca3
  • 9. Letter to President from Hoti Lal, convener RPVEAM (petitioner in WP 8955/2003)
    http://skel.architexturez.net/pst/b5b21e27-e404-44c9-9f78-9f27a83fc3b3
  • 10. Universalisation of Education: The statutory Delhi Master Plan (DMP) scheme
    http://skel.architexturez.net/doc/az-cf-22857
  • 11. ‘Kaifi Azmi's largesse to DPS kids’, Pioneer
    Staff Reporter/ New Delhi

    What has Kaifi Azmi to do with Delhi Public School, R K Puram? The school under a smear for sometime finally had an evening or rather afternoon to feel proud of. DPS, R K Puram's evening school for poor children - Anubhav Shiksha Kendra - has been adopted by Kaifi Azmi.

    On Tuesday, the who's who of politics and Bollywood assembled in the grounds of DPS, R K Puram to name the road running outside as Kaifi Azmi Marg. What is now Kaifi Azmi Marg connects Anubhav Shiksha Kendra, a school for the underpriviledged, with the rest of the world.

    "Azmi believed in equality and felt everyone had a right to education irrespective of his or her financial status," said Shyama Chona, principal of DPS RK Puram. Actor and former Member of Parliament Shabana Azmi voiced a couplet written by her late father, which she said was very dear to her. "Pyar ka jashan nai tarah manana hoga; gam kisi dil mein ho us gam ko mitana hoga," she said, wishing her mother and family were present on the occasion when a road was being renamed after her father. The poet's son-in-law and lyricist Javed Akhtar also read out a nazm titled Ajeeb aadmi tha voh, which he wrote after Azmi's demise.

    Inspired by the sher-o-shayari, Gursharan Kaur, wife of Prime Minister of India Dr Manmohan Singh also read out a few lines. She said, "Hazaaron saal nargis apni benoori pe roti hai; badi mushkil se hota hai chaman mein deedaar paida."

    "Kaifi Azmi was a splendid personality who left an indellible imprint on our history. After being renamed, the road has gained symbolic significance. It is like an extension of his life's work of connecting people," said Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee. Comrade AB Vardhan recalled his early days when Kaifi Azmi, also a communist worked for the party. "For us, communists comrade Kaifi Azmi, the inqualabi shayar, is and will always remain a comrade. He was associated with the party till his very last breadth," he said.

    The road naming ceremony was followed by a Mushaira and presentation of the Yade Kaifi award at Anubhav DPS Shiksha Kendra, a school for slum children run in the premises of DPS.