Vikramaditya Jain, a sixth grade student of American Embassy School, was expelled in May 1998 on the charge that he along with five other students had harassed a fellow male student. The other students were placed on short periods of probation and taken back while Vikram was not taken back.

Justice Anil Dev Singh said in his order that the petition was not maintainable under Article 226 of the Constitution because the American Embassy School was not affiliated to any Indian Body like CBSE or ICSE.

However, he held that the American Embassy School was not diplomatically immune and is amenable to the jurisdiction of the Indian Courts and legal system. Going into the merits of thecase the principle of natural justice have been violated and there was no compliance of the rules of the school, the Court further held.

The order pointed out that the Director of the School had to submit the details of the recommendation to the Board of Governors and this said recommendation had to be shared with the student and the parents. But none of these rules were complied with by the American Embassy School.

The judge further said that the order of expulsion is liable to be quashed but because the writ petition was not maintainable, such an order cannot be passed by this Court. But the student could avail of an appropriate alternative legal remedy for the redressal of his grievances other than by way of writ petition, he added.