RTE quota: HC junks Maharashtra govt notification giving conditional exemption to private schools
Bombay High Court on Friday quashed the Maharashtra government's notification that exempted private schools within a one-kilometre radius of government or aided schools from Right to Education (RTE) Act quota admissions. A division bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar said the notification dated February 9 was «ultra vires» to Article 21 of the Constitution of India and provisions of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, also known as the RTE.
«The notification is held to be null and void,» the court said.
The court, in its judgment, said the mandate of the law casts a duty not only on the government but also on private unaided schools to provide education to children in the age group of six to 14 years from the disadvantaged section of society.
The mandate of the state to provide free and compulsory education under Article 21-A is almost absolute, it held.
Provisions of the RTE Act mandate that private unaided schools shall also be part of such mandatory duty, the court said.
The bench noted that if the purpose of the RTE Act is not achieved fully, it would result in denial of the fundamental right enshrined under Article 21-A of the Constitution of India.
The RTE Act does not provide for any condition, and it is mandatory for all private unaided schools in the neighbourhood to follow its provisions, it said.
The bench refused to accept the government's contention that it has established a sufficient number of schools and has been spending a lot of public
