The Madras High Court has granted the Tamil Nadu government four weeks to file its response in petitions challenging a government direction that bars political-ideological and religious programmes from being held on private school campuses.
The dispute stems from amendments made in March to rules under the private schools law, later notified in the gazette. The changes state that school premises should not be used for political, ideological, communal, separatist or other non-educational events, meetings or campaigns. Private schools were also instructed to give an annual undertaking by April 30 that the direction would be implemented.
Petitions were filed by Saraswathi Vidyalaya Matric Higher Secondary School in Vellore and Sri Kamaraj Vidyalaya Primary School in Theni. Earlier, the High Court declined to stay the overall restriction on political and religious events, but granted an interim stay only on the clause requiring schools to submit an undertaking to implement the order.
When the matter came up again before a bench comprising Chief Justice S.A. Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arulmurugan, the petitioners said the government had not yet filed a counter. The government sought time to do so.
Accepting the request, the court granted four weeks for filing the reply and extended the interim stay, limited to the undertaking requirement, until then.
