Mumbai, June 12: Observing that it “cannot be a silent spectator” when a child is denied admission and that education is a fundamental right, the Bombay High Court came to the rescue of a six-year-old Scheduled Caste student whose admission under the Right to Education (RTE) quota was cancelled over a technical lapse in residence documents.
HC stays rejection of RTE application
The court stayed the rejection of the child's application and directed authorities to process his admission to Class 1 at a school in Airoli.
The petition was filed by the boy’s father challenging the decision of education authorities to reject the child's application under the 25 per cent RTE quota reserved for Scheduled Caste students.
Family residence documents clarified
According to the petition, the family has been residing in Airoli for nearly 12 years. The child's father had initially submitted an unregistered leave and licence agreement while applying for admission. Although the application was provisionally accepted and an allotment letter issued on May 15, 2026, it was later rejected on May 28 on the ground that the agreement was not registered.
After learning about the requirement, the father executed a registered leave and licence agreement for the same residence and submitted it along with supporting documents, including passport records, bank documents and gas connection papers, seeking reconsideration of the application.
Court highlights constitutional right to education
A bench of Justices Riyaz Chagla and Farhan Dubash noted that the material on record prima facie established that the family had been residing at the same Airoli address for several years. “Respondent No. 4 [education officer (primary), Zilla Parishad, Thane] ought not to have rejected the application solely on the ground of failure to submit a registered leave and licence agreement,” the bench observed.
The judges further said, “This Court cannot be a silent spectator to the act of Respondent No. 4 to deny admission to the petitioner in Respondent No. 6 school.”
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Emphasising the constitutional guarantee under Article 21A, the bench added, “Elementary education is his fundamental right and the State is obliged to ensure that the petitioner is admitted to school and completes his elementary education.”
The matter has been kept for further hearing on July 30, 2026.
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