Recently, the Delhi High Court directed the state government and the CBSE to take appropriate action against "dummy" schools operating in the national capital. The bench highlighted the advantage of Delhi domicile offered by these schools to students from other states and requested an affidavit from both the Delhi government and CBSE detailing the actions taken against such schools.

A bench comprising Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela termed it a "fraud," stating that schools permitting students to only attend coaching classes and appear for exams based on "absolutely false information" should not be allowed to operate.

"It has been noticed that students do not attend classes in schools; rather spend time in coaching centres. However they are allowed to take examinations by education boards where they are required to put in requisite minimum attendance. We therefore direct the state government and CBSE to conduct inspection in this regard," it ordered.

During the hearing, the Delhi government’s counsel argued that the concept of a "dummy" school did not exist and claimed that the issue of "fake admissions" was being overstated and "mischaracterized."

He further stated that schools were required to adhere to affiliation rules, and if they failed to do so, appropriate action was taken. Additionally, he mentioned that there had been no complaints lodged with the authorities regarding any "dummy" schools.

Remarking that the authorities might refer to such schools by any name, the court questioned the Delhi government counsel about the actions taken by the state education department regarding the alleged fake admissions. In response, the counsel stated that action had been initiated in two instances.

"We call upon counsel for the state government and the CBSE to file additional affidavit giving details of action taken in case any information regarding 'dummy' schools is received," the court said.

The CBSE counsel informed the court that action had been taken against over 300 "dummy" schools across the country. The bench directed the education department to conduct a survey and, if necessary, carry out surprise inspections to gather relevant information, which should then be shared with the CBSE. The bench further stated that the CBSE would also collect information and provide it to the state government. Once the information was received, the authorities were instructed to take appropriate legal action against the management of such schools.

A PIL was filed by petitioner Rajeev Aggarwal challenging the eligibility criteria set by Delhi University and Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University for granting MBBS or BDS seats under the DSQ. He argued that "dummy" schools offered a "virtual platform" for students to falsely claim they had migrated to Delhi after completing their class 10 exams, with the sole intent of securing Delhi state quota seats. These seats, he contended, should be allocated to bona fide residents of the NCT of Delhi. The matter is scheduled to be heard in May.