No territorial jurisdiction simply because CBSE head office is in Delhi: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has ruled that does not have territorial jurisdiction over litigation involving the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) simply because the Board's head office was in Delhi (Riddhima Singh v. CBSE & Ors)..The Court stated that CBSE was a Central body that could defend proceedings anywhere in the country..In the present case, a school student from Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh had filed a plea against an increase in her school fees. .Justice Prateek Jalan said that since the plea concerned a school in Ghaziabad, it ought to be dismissed on the principle of forum non conveniens, as per which the Court deems another forum or court to be more appropriate to handle a case..The Court said, "...I am of the view that the mere presence of the CBSE as a respondent in the petition is not sufficient to enable this Court to exercise jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution. The Court may decline to entertain a writ petition, if it comes to the conclusion that it is not the most appropriate Court for the purpose. In arriving at such a conclusion, the Court will consider inter alia the existence of a more appropriate forum where a petitioner could effectively agitate her grievances.".The Court thus opined that the issues raised before it could be raised before the jurisdictional High Court. Dismissing the plea, the Court said, "The petitioner’s contentions regarding improper or inadequate oversight by the respondent authorities implicate not just the CBSE, but even more importantly, the State of Uttar Pradesh.The issues which the petitioner has raised in this Court can very well be raised before the jurisdictional High Court, which is entertaining allied grievances in the writ petition...".It was submitted before the Court that the student had not been allowed to attend school for several months on account of being unable to pay the whole fees. She had also prayed for compensation, among other reliefs. .Shailendra Kumar Singh, the petitioner's father, submitted that the Delhi High Court was indeed the appropriate forum to adjudicate upon this issue, as the relief sought was directed against the CBSE, which is based in Delhi..He also argued that CBSE had the authority to pass directions regarding issues like fee hike, especially to its affiliated schools..Advocate Seema Dolo, appearing on behalf of CBSE, submitted that the Board has regional offices for schools in each jurisdiction and thus the plea would not be maintainable outside the limits of territorial jurisdiction. She also added that CBSE deals with classes 10 to 12, and an issue concerning a student of class 9 was beyond its scope..Advocate Aishwarya Rao, on behalf of the school, told the Court that the core issue in the petition related to an increase in fees by the school, which, according to her, was in consonance with the laws enacted by the State of Uttar Pradesh in this regard..Advocate Mukesh Verma, appearing for the State of Uttar Pradesh, told the Court that the petitioner had filed another plea on the same issue before the Allahabad High Court..[Read the order]