In a first-of-its-kind development, principal of a private school in central Delhi has been suspended after intervention by the Delhi assembly’s petitions committee. The panel had received several complaints against the principal.

Sources said the committee had been pursuing the matter for a while and had summoned the directorate of education officials over a series of complaints against Sandhya Bindal, the principal of Ramjas School, Anand Parbat.

The department informed the committee on Friday that the school management has acted against the principal.

“The committee had received several complaints from aggrieved parents against the principal. It ranged from mental harassment, bad behaviour and fee refund. The education department officials were summoned and asked to look into the complaints. On Friday, secretary (education) and education director informed the committee that the principal has been removed,” a member of the committee said.

Sources in the directorate of education (DOE) said they had formed a committee to conduct an inspection of the school and submitted the recommendation to the school’s management committee.

“We had received complaints from the parents. An inquiry was conducted to look into the allegations by parents and the committee gave its recommendation to the school management committee. We had recommended that action should be taken against the principal,” a source said.

The source said that final action was taken by the school as the DOE cannot directly interfere in the matters of a private unaided school.

“The final decision of suspension was taken by the school’s management. We had only recommended that action should be taken but what should be the action is decided by the school,” the source said.

Devesh Gupta, chairperson of the management committee, said that based on the recommendation of the DOE they suspended the principal. “Now a show-cause notice will be issued to her and an inquiry conducted to take a final call on the issue. Natural justice says we need to give the principal a chance to defend herself,” he said.

The principal Sandhya Bindal said that the action against her are motivated as she had refused to misuse the school funds as allegedly asked by the management committee.

“The committee wanted me to misuse the money which I refused. They also wanted me to make appointments by flouting rules but I did not do that. That’s why they are after me” she alleged.

Bindal alleged that the case has become politically motivated. “There are so many schools in Delhi but why is the privilege committee interested so much in this case. Even the issue of fee hike actually concerns the management committee because the principal doesn’t increase fee, the committee does,” she said.