_{“We are also parents... It is normal to apply to two or three schools and choose one. What’s wrong with that,’’ said a bench headed by acting Chief Justice J N Patel as it admitted a petition against B D Somani International School and directed it to deposit Rs 5.95 lakh collected as fees from two students within two weeks in court.}

_{The high court was hearing a petition filed by two parents challenging the refusal by the school management to refund the fees they had already paid after cancelling admissions. The parents pointed out that schools could not legally deny refund and that it was no small amount that each student had paid. One of the students had paid Rs 3.5 lakh, and the rest by the other student. The kids were studying in Std XI at the IB school. The bench comprising Justice Patel and Justice Bhushan Gavai observed that the admission fee amount was “very high’’ and if the student decides to go to another school, fees ought to be refunded. Justice Patel also remarked that “business houses had entered the educational field and were turning education into a profit-making business’’. Admission and cancellation by students had taken place more than a 18 months ago.}

_{The parents moved the high court only towards the end of 2009, saying they first tried to get a refund by sending letters to the school and the education inspector and department. Their petition said the school brochure contained an “illegal clause’’, which stated that fees once paid would not be refunded in any circumstances. Counsel for the school, Sujay Kantawala, said the petition was not maintainable against a private unaided school. He said the parents had signed the admission forms with “open eyes’’ and since it is a contractual obligation, a writ petition cannot be filed against the school as it is not a ‘state’. He argued that “the admission brochure and its clauses could not be challenged in a writ petition’’. But the judges said that it is quite normal for parents to apply in various schools before choosing one. Justice Patel also said that schools should not retain fees once admission is cancelled. “You can always fill in the cancelled seats.’’}

_{The judge asked Kantawala how much time would the school management take to refund the fees in this case. Kantawala said the school would not pay the amount to the parents, but submit it to court, subject to the final decision in the petition. At Kantawala’s insistence, the court kept the issue of maintainability of the petition open, which would be decided at the time of the petition’s final hearing.}

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