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PIL on mushrooming of coaching centers: HC issues show cause notice to Div Com

KT NEWS SERVICE. Dated: 4/8/2015 12:37:00 PM

SRINAGAR, Apr 7: The High Court has issued show cause notice to Divisional Commissioner Kashmir asking him why action cannot be taken against him under law for failing to comply with its previous directions on functioning of unregistered coaching centers operating in the State.
The order was issued by a division bench of the High Court comprising of Justice M H Attar and Justice A M Magrey. The matter has been listed on April 27. On March 31, the Court had asked the high level committee headed by Divisional Commissioners to file compliance report vis-à-vis its previous directions on functioning of unregistered coaching centers in the state.
The court had asked for a compliance report in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking court’s intervention on mushrooming of "unregistered" private coaching centers by or before April 6.
On February 10, the Court had warned a three-member committee headed by Divisional Commissioner Kashmir with contempt proceedings if it failed to close down “forthwith” all unregistered coaching and tuition centres in the Valley. The court had also asked divisional commissioner Jammu to close all unregistered coaching centers and file compliance report.
In order to secure the interests of children who are studying in the unregistered coaching and tuition centres, the court had directed the owners and the authorized persons of the institutes not to operate their bank accounts which stand in their names.
“The Court is constrained to pass the directions to ensure that noble service of teaching is not reduced to mere commercial activity. The interest of children, who are future of the nation, is dearer to all and have to be secured at all cost,” the court had said.
The directions were made applicable to coaching and tuition centres which remained unregistered till the issuance of its December 30 order and not to those who those who have applied for renewal of their registration.
The court had also extended its directions to the coaching and tuition centres of Jammu division with the direction the Divisional Commissioner Jammu to submit detailed report before it on the next date of hearing.
The coaching and tuition centres functioning in Jammu were also directed to file undertakings that they comply with 2010 Rules and court directions.
On February 21, the Supreme Court of India dismissed a Special Leave Petition challenging closure of unregistered coaching centers in Jammu and Kashmir.
A division bench headed by Chief Justice H.L. Dattu had however granted another six weeks to the Coaching Centers to comply with the ‘order(s)’ by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court.
The bench also comprising Justice A K Sikri had passed the directions hearing the arguments by senior advocate Salman Khursheed for the petitioners—Coaching Centers Association through its chairman.
The association had challenged the February 10 order by the high court, directing besides the closure of the coaching centres, the constitution of a committee comprising two former District and Sessions Judges to verify undertaking filed the owners of these centres before the Registrar Judicial of the court.
The high court had also directed the coaching centres in Srinagar to deposit of an amount of Rs 10000 each while those operating in other districts of the Valley were directed to deposit Rs 7000 with Registrar Judicial within ten days time. The amount, as per the court, is to be paid to the members of the committee in equal share.