Rajasthan High Court: In a series of civil writ petitions filed by petitioner and some students against the Central Board of Secondary Education (‘CBSE’) punishment order of de-affiliation for one year and downgrading from Senior Secondary School to Secondary School, a Single Judge Bench of Anoop Kumar Dhand, J., directed the CBSE to pass a fresh reasoned order after considering all the evidence and contentions of the schools. The Court, after observing the menace created by the dummy schools which were degrading the education system ordered the constitution of a Special Investigation Team (‘SIT’) to conduct surprise inspections of schools and coaching centers and take appropriate action. The Court hoped that the Department of Education, State Government, CBSE and Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education will come forward by enacting beneficial bye-laws in the interest of children at large for their better future and career.
Background
The CBSE passed punishment orders against petitioner schools by which these educational institutions were de-affiliated for one year and were downgraded from Senior Secondary School to Secondary School with liberty to submit fresh application after expiry of two years.
Against the punishment orders the petitioner schools and one another school had previously approached the Court where the Court on 21-04-2025 had granted liberty to all the three schools to approach CBSE by filing documents in their defence. After the three schools approached the CBSE with their separate representations, the CBSE granted the other school liberty to remove its deficiencies. The petitioner schools were not granted any liberty and punishment orders were passed against them. Aggrieved, the petitioner schools filed the present petition.
The CBSE had conducted an inspection and found that the petitioner schools had violated several bye-laws, including sponsoring dummy/non-attending students, manipulating records, having severe infrastructural deficiencies, a poor student-teacher ratio, and committee irregularities in maintaining essential school records.
Further, students of class X and XII were ordered to be shifted to a nearby school. The students filed writ petitions with the plea that during their academic session, the punishment orders have been passed, adversely affecting their studies.
Analysis and Decision
The Court observed that it is not an expert to make a choice out of the contradictory arguments of comparison, raised by counsel for the parties. The Court gave the following directions-
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It is for the CBSE to investigate the matter and make a comparison or distinction to find out if there is any similarity or dissimilarity between the case of the petitioner schools and the case of other school granted liberty. The Court deemed it proper to remit the matter back to the CBSE.
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In case of any adverse order passed against the petitioner schools would be at liberty to approach appropriate forum of law.
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Looking to the fact that the students who were studying in different classes of the petitioner schools, having completed half of their studies, cannot be allowed to be shifted to any other schools in the middle of their academic session. The CBSE is expected to allow these students to appear in the forthcoming exams after accepting their examination forms, if they are otherwise found eligible to appear in the exam.
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The CBSE was at liberty to conduct random and sudden inspections regarding the studies of the students who are currently studying in the petitioner schools and if any adverse situation is found, appropriate action be taken against them, in accordance with law.
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The Court restrained the petitioner schools from taking new admissions in Class-IX to XII until and unless any order is passed in their favour by the CBSE.
The Court taking judicial notice of the situation observed that,
“in the State of Rajasthan, there are numerous schools, permitting dummy candidates, by manipulating the attendance registers to falsely show their presence in the school attendance registers despite the students are not being actually present for the regular studies in Class-IX to XII.”
The Court observed that education has become a profitable business both for the schools and the coaching centres. The Court further observed that,
“the proliferation of dummy schools is a symptom of a deeper crisis in India’s education system, rooted in the commercialization and commodification of education… The menace of dummy schools is a blight on India’s education system, undermining the principles of holistic learning and academic integrity.”
The Court noted that in the country parental pressure often forces students to enroll in dummy schools to prepare for highly competitive entrance exams like JEE and NEET. This narrow focus on a single career path can negatively affect a child’s mental health and future prospects, as most students fail to secure a spot in these limited-seat colleges. A more balanced approach is needed, where parents and schools work together to guide students in pursuing career paths based on their own interests, not just parental expectations. Hence, the dummy schools are causing huge loss to students and seriously affecting their future and career.
The CBSE has recently issued specific guidelines to all affiliated schools, emphasizing the mandatory 75% attendance rule for students to be eligible for board exams. Schools are expected to follow these guidelines strictly. Additionally, the state government and education departments should establish counselling centres in all schools. These centres would counsel students and parents about future careers, ensuring students are not pressured into studying a particular stream against their will.
The Court ordered the State and all the Boards to constitute Special Investigating Teams (SITs) to carry out sudden and random inspections of all the schools and the coaching centres and in case, the students are found absent in such schools and simultaneously, they found present in the coaching centres, during the school hours, then appropriate strict action be taken against all the stakeholders, including the schools and the coaching centres in accordance with law.
The Court hoped that the Department of Education, State Government, CBSE and Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education will come forward by enacting beneficial bye-laws in the interest of children at large for their better future and career.
Further, the Court directed the CBSE and the Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education to conduct random and sudden inspections of all affiliated schools on a regular basis. In case of any shortage of attendance of students and teachers, appropriate action should be taken against the schools, and that de-affiliation orders be passed only after providing an adequate opportunity for hearing.
[LBS Convent School v. Central Board of Secondary Education, S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 9380/2025, decided on 15-09-2025]
Advocates who appeared in this case:
For Petitioners: R.B. Mathur, Senior Advocate with Nikhil Simlote, Falak Mathur, Salim Khan Gori, Manish Bhodiwal, Yug Singh, Utsav Verma, Aditya Sharma, Ashwani Kumar Chobisa with Priyansha Gupta, Amit Malani
For Respondents: M.S. Raghav with Vishivas Saini