The Supreme Court on Monday heard a plea filed by 24 students from Class 10 against a private school, St Xavier International School, Bhubaneswar, Odisha for demanding money and forcing them to take admission to the school to get better marks. A bench headed by Justice A M Khanwilkar took note of the submission of the lawyer of the students.

"The counsel for the petitioner submits that in terms of liberty granted by this court, a copy of the petition has been given to the respondents. None appeared for Respondent 3 (school). Accordingly, issue notice returnable on February 14...," ordered the bench, which also comprised Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and C T Ravikumar.

Students these days are filing petitions at the top for a number of reasons, including fee hikes, marks distribution, fairness, and accuracy in NEET exams, among others.

(With inputs from agencies)