The Bombay High Court on Friday invalidated a February 9 notification by the Maharashtra government that had exempted private schools within a one-kilometre radius of government or aided schools from adhering to the Right to Education (RTE) Act’s 25% quota for economically disadvantaged children.
Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar declared the notification “ultra vires” (beyond legal power) of Article 21 of the Constitution and the RTE Act, ruling it as null and void. The court had previously stayed the notification’s implementation in May.
Despite this ruling, the court stated that admissions made by private unaided schools under the exemption prior to the stay would not be disturbed. However, these schools must comply with the RTE Act’s requirement to reserve 25% of their seats for economically weaker and disadvantaged children.
The February notification had been challenged by petitions arguing that it contravened the RTE Act, which mandates that 25% of seats at the entry level in private unaided schools be reserved for disadvantaged children. The petitioners contended that the exemption undermined the constitutional right to education for these children.
Government pleader Jyoti Chavan argued that the notification applied only to unaided private schools located near government or aided schools. Under the RTE Act, the government reimburses tuition fees for these reserved seats.
Source: PTI
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