Stating that the “safety and life of students” could not be put at risk, the Gujarat High Court on Tuesday refused to grant relief to an Ahmedabad school to admit new students after the takeover of the administration by the state government.
The take-over, ordered by the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB) in December 2025, had come after an inquiry into an August 2025 incident, in which a Class 10 student was stabbed to death by another student.
The court was hearing a petition filed by three bodies of the school, in which the state government and the District Education Officer of Ahmedabad are respondents. In the submissions before the court, Senior Advocate Mihir Joshi, who represented the school, sought relief to allow the school to admit new students– setting aside one of the clauses of the December 15, 2025, order of the GSHSEB while directing the DEO to take administrative control of the school.
Citing the “larger interest of students”, the court refused to grant relief to the school. The oral order of a single judge bench of Justice Nirzar Desai on Tuesday noted the submissions of the Government Pleader G H Virk, who pointed out to the court that even while the petition is pending, on February 6, 2026, another incident has been reported where a student had “sustained injury on account of attack by another student by blade”.
Virk informed the court that a notice by the DEO to which the head master had submitted a reply stating that the second incident of February 6 was “not a big incident”.
The oral order of the HC states: “(The petitioner) has requested to grant ad-relief by at least allowing the school to admit new students, such relief cannot be considered at this stage as the court is examining the validity and legality of the impugned order. Such examination cannot be done by putting the safety and life of students at risk and, therefore, at this juncture, I do not propose to grant any relief prayed for by learned Senior Counsel for the petitioner…. without considering the version of the state government, when such grave irregularities and unfortunate incident is reported, the court in the larger interest of the students do not propose to grant any relief…”
The court noted the time taken by the petitioners to challenge the order of the GSHSEB dated December 15, 2025, which directed the take over of the administration of the school and its functioning on campus by the DEO, along with the condition that no new admissions will be granted by the school.
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The order notes, “(The) impugned order dated December 15, 2025, is challenged by way of this petition which (was) presented before this court on January 9, 2026… and the registration date is January 20, 2026. Thereafter, the matter was listed on January 23, 2026 and on that day, (the petitioner’s advocate) had requested for time and that is how, the matter was adjourned to today… the impugned order… has already been implemented, is sought to be challenged in the month of February i.e. after one and half month.”
The order states that the petition runs into 168 pages of “voluminous record” as an inquiry was initiated in the unfortunate incident of a student stabbed.
The court also refused to allow three other applications seeking to be joined as party in the case, including the (school’s) Vali Mandal Sangharsh Samiti– an association of parents, as well as another by an association of teachers. The three applicants withdrew their respective civil applications in order to file separate substantive petitions in the matter.
The court will now hear the matter on May 7.
The action recommended by the GSHSEB had been initiated based on the DEO’s report dated October 18, 2025, and the recommendation of the Director of Primary Education dated November 6, 2025, which highlighted serious deficiencies and alleged irregularities in the school administration. During Tuesday’s hearing, the Government Pleader informed the court that the order had been implemented.
Aditi Raja is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, stationed in Vadodara, Gujarat, with over 20 years in the field. She has been reporting from the region of Central Gujarat and Narmada district for this newspaper since 2013, which establishes her as a highly Authoritative and Trustworthy source on regional politics, administration, and critical socio-economic and environmental issues.
Expertise:
Core Authority & Specialization: Her reporting is characterized by a comprehensive grasp of the complex factors shaping Central Gujarat, which comprises a vast tribal population, including:
Politics and Administration: In-depth analysis of dynamics within factions of political parties and how it affects the affairs in the region, visits of national leaders making prominent statements, and government policy decisions impacting the population on ground.
Crucial Regional Projects: She consistently reports on the socio-economic and political impact of infrastructure projects in the region, especially the Statue of Unity, the Sardar Sarovar Project on the Narmada River, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail bullet train project as well as the National Highway infrastructure.
Social Justice and Human Rights: Her reporting offers deep coverage of sensitive human-interest topics, including gender, crime, and tribal issues. Her reports cover legal proceedings from various district courts as well as the Gujarat High Court (e.g., the Bilkis Bano case remission, POCSO court orders, Public Interest Litigations), the plight of tribal communities, and broader social conflicts (e.g., Kheda flogging case).
Local Impact & Disaster Reporting: Excels in documenting the immediate impact of events on communities, such as the political and civic fallout of the Vadodara floods, the subsequent public anger, and the long-delayed river redevelopment projects, Harni Boat Tragedy, Air India crash, bringing out a blend of stories from the investigations as well as human emotions.
Special Interest Beat: She tracks incidents concerning Non-Resident Gujaratis (NRIs) including crime and legal battles abroad, issues of illegal immigration and deportations, as well as social events connecting the local Gujarati experience to the global diaspora. ... Read More
