HC SEEKS STATE’S REPLY ON PLEA FOR FEE EXEMPTION

LUCKNOW: The Lucknow bench of Allahabad high court on Wednesday sought a reply from the state government on a public interest litigation (PIL) petition seeking direction to the state government to exempt fee of students up to intermediate class for the lockdown period. A division bench of justice Pankaj Kumar Jaiswal and justice Saurabh Lavania passed the order on the PIL filed by a local lawyer Shishir Chaturvedi. The petitioner submitted that during the ongoing lockdown, sources of income of guardians has got minimised or completely stopped. Hence, they are not in a position to deposit fee of their wards. In such a situation, the state government should be directed to exempt the fee of students up to senior secondary level in government and private schools of UP. v State counsel HP Srivastava submitted before the court that a similar petition was pending and the case had been fixed for June 18. The court then connected the present PIL with the pending petition and directed that the two petitions be listed for June 18. “In the meantime, respondents (the state and other authorities) may file their reply, if any,” the court said.