In a significant crackdown on educational malpractices, the Delhi High Court has barred a "dummy school" from running classes XI and XII and admitting new students. The court's order comes in response to the school's questionable practices, where students were enrolled on paper but rarely attended classes.
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) conducted a surprise inspection, which revealed that the school was essentially a front for students to attend coaching classes while maintaining enrollment to remain eligible for Class XII examinations and to seek quotas in Delhi's engineering and medical colleges.
Justice Jyoti Singh, presiding over the case, has initiated contempt of court proceedings against the owner and management of Richmondd Global School for disregarding an earlier undertaking given to the court. The court has directed the school management to deposit ₹75 lakh with the court registry, representing the fees collected from students who were enrolled but not attending classes.
Acknowledging the plight of the students affected by this situation, the High Court has permitted 128 students out of the 1,300 enrolled in classes XI and XII to transfer to a nearby CBSE-affiliated school. The CBSE has been instructed to open its online portal to facilitate their examination registration. The court has directed a team of CBSE officials to inspect the school records on December 26, 2025, to verify admissions and attendance of the 128 students. The school is required to issue transfer certificates within one week, allowing the students to join James Convent Senior Secondary School, Nihal Vihar, upon payment of applicable fees.
The High Court has also instructed the school chairman, Nidhi Gupta, and manager, Rishabh Gupta, to submit affidavits confirming that no further admissions are being made. This information must be prominently displayed for students of classes X and XI to ensure they are aware that they will not be promoted to classes XI and XII in the upcoming academic session.
This ruling is part of a broader effort to address the issue of "dummy schools" operating in Delhi. These institutions allow students to bypass regular schooling, focusing instead on coaching centers while fraudulently maintaining school enrollment. The Delhi High Court had previously directed the state government and CBSE to take strict action against such schools, which exploit Delhi domicile benefits for students from other states.
In January 2025, the Delhi High Court addressed the issue of dummy schools, observing that students were spending time in coaching centers instead of schools, yet were allowed to appear for board exams based on fabricated attendance records. The court criticized this practice as fraudulent and ordered inspections by CBSE and the Delhi government to curb it. CBSE had reported taking action against over 300 such schools across India.
The recent action against Richmondd Global School underscores the Delhi High Court's commitment to ensuring the integrity of the education system and preventing the exploitation of loopholes that undermine genuine students and the standards of education.
