It is a children’s school & you go there with SDM & police when you have a court order: HC

Delhi High Court on Wednesday questioned the presence of police force during the Delhi government’s sealing process of two branches of a private unaided school in the national Capital.

“Why police was required in force? It is a children’s school and you go there with SDM and police when you have a court order. Who authorised it?” Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva said.

The court also noted that the lawyer for the Directorate of Education (DoE) was “probably incorrectly instructed” by the department as the court was informed that only record rooms of Maxfort School were being sealed, when as per a video of the process at Pitampura branch, “entire school appeared to be sealed”.

“Video (of Pitampura branch) gives indication that entire school was being sealed,” the judge said. The court further said that one of the two local commissioners appointed by it to visit the two schools had in her report alleged that DoE officials put her to hardship and misbehaved with her and also did not provide her a copy of video recording of the Rohini branch of Maxfort school.

“There is no question of misbehaving with court appointed officials,” the court said.

DoE in its defence said that police was taken as a precaution as there was apprehension of aggressive behaviour on the part of school authorities.

The bench, however, disagreed and said that as per the video recording of Pitampura branch, there was no aggression on either side and thus, “there was no necessity for police”. The court, thereafter, directed DoE to place on record the video recording of sealing of Rohini branch of the school.