The 86th (Constitution Amendment) Act, 2002 inserted Article 21A to the Constitution which holds the State, mandatorily, responsible for providing free, compulsory, and high-quality education to all students aged 6-14 years in India.
According to the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE), 2009, all private unaided schools are required to reserve 25% of their seats in Class I, for students from disadvantaged and weaker sections. recently the Maharashtra government issued a notification amending the Maharashtra Rules on February 9, 2024, under which it exempts all private unaided schools from the 25% reservation under the RTE Act 2009 if there is a government-run or government-aided school within a 1km radius of the private school. This amendment would create disparities in educational opportunities and segregate students based on caste and class.
CLPR represented two Petitioners, who are public spirited individuals, in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that was filed in the Hon’ble Bombay High Court challenging the new amendment to the Rules. On 6th May 2024, the petition was heard in the Bombay High Court, and a Division bench of the Bombay High Court stayed the operation of the amendment, on the grounds that it was unconstitutional, violative of Articles 14, 21 and 21-A of the Constitution of India and ultra vires the provisions of the Principal Act, namely, the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009.
The petition is pending.