Cuttack, Feb. 23: Orissa High Court today imposed fresh restrictions on the New Stewart School management’s bid to collect enhanced fees by way of arrears from students despite a stay order issued by it in May last year.

Debraj Nayak and all other parents had filed a petition after the school authorities issued a notice on February 5, asking parents to clear all arrear dues of the students by February 25.

The notice had warned that annual results of students would be withheld in case of non-payment of the dues.

“Acting on the petition, the single judge bench of Justice Sanju Panda today issued a stay order on the notification issued by authorities of New Stewart School in Cuttack on February 5,” petitioner counsel Gopal Agarwal told The Telegraph.

“New Stewart School in Cuttack had increased the monthly fees of students by around Rs 100 from April 2011. Acting on petitions filed by the parents, the high court had issued an interim stay order on it on May 2, 2011, and directed the school management to collect fees without any hike. But the school had tried to collect the hiked amount as arrears by the end of the 2011-2012 session,” Agarwal said.

On April 22, 2011, the high court had also imposed restrictions on collection of enhanced fees by Stewart School, Cuttack, from April 2011.

The petitions challenging fee hike from April 2011 by the two schools, both managed by Diocese of Cuttack, have since been pending before the high court.