Cancellation Of Admission On Ground That Student Already Availed RTE 25% Reservation Scheme Not Illegal: Bombay High Court
The Bombay High Court was considering a writ petition filed by the petitioner seeking a direction to the Directorate of Primary Education to accept the admission form of his son under the RTE Act.
Justice Vibha Kankanwadi and Justice Hiten S. Venegavkar, Bombay High Court, Aurangabad Bench
While observing that the right to education under Article 21-A does not confer upon a parent the right to repeatedly claim admission under a specific welfare quota after having already availed the benefit once, the Bombay High Court has held that the cancellation of the admission on the ground that the student had already availed the benefit of the RTE 25% reservation scheme cannot be said to be illegal.
The High Court was considering a writ petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India by the petitioner seeking a direction to the Directorate of Primary Education to accept the admission form of the petitioner’s son under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (RTE Act) under the 25% reservation quota meant for children belonging to economically weaker sections and disadvantaged groups.
The Division Bench of Justice Hiten S. Venegavkar and Justice Vibha Kankanwadi held, “The cancellation of the admission by respondent No.4 on the ground that the petitioner’s son had already availed the benefit of the RTE 25% reservation scheme in the academic year 2024–2025 cannot be said to be arbitrary, illegal or violative of any statutory or constitutional right. The decision of the authorities is consistent with the objective of ensuring fair allocation of the limited seats reserved under the scheme. The right to education under Article 21-A guarantees access to elementary education, but it does not confer upon a parent the right to repeatedly claim admission under a specific welfare quota after having already availed the benefit once.”
Advocate Ramrao G. Nirmal represented the Petitioner while Additional Govt Pleader S. K. Tambe represented the Respondent.
Factual Background
The Directorate of Primary Education, Maharashtra State had invited online applications under the RTE 25% reservation scheme for the academic year 2025–2026 for admission to First Standard in recognised private schools. The petitioner applied through the online admission portal. While filling the online form, a specific question was posed in the application portal as to whether the student had earlier been selected in any lottery process under the RTE admission scheme. The petitioner answered the said question in the affirmative and furnished an undertaking that he would comply with all the conditions prescribed under the scheme. According to the petitioner, upon receiving the provisional admit card he withdrew the admission of his son from the existing school, namely Little English School, and requested the school authorities to remove his son’s name from the online portal. After obtaining the transfer certificate from the said school, the petitioner approached the Scrutiny Committee and completed the document verification process.
However, later the petitioner received a communication from the Block Eduction Officer stating that the admission of the petitioner’s son had been cancelled on the ground that he had already availed the benefit of the RTE 25% reservation scheme during the academic year 2024–2025. The petitioner thereafter submitted an application before the Education Officer (Primary). The petitioner requested reconsideration of the admission of his son under the RTE scheme. As no effective action was taken by the authorities, the petitioner approached the High Court invoking its writ jurisdiction.
Reasoning
The Bench explained that Section 12(1)(c) of the RTE Act mandates that unaided private schools shall admit at least 25% of the strength of the class at the entry level from children belonging to weaker sections and disadvantaged groups in the neighbourhood and provide free and compulsory elementary education till completion. “The provision is intended to ensure equitable access to education for children who would otherwise be unable to afford education in private institutions. The scheme operates through a structured admission process including lottery selection where the number of eligible applicants exceeds the number of available seats”, it added.
On a perusal of the facts of the case, the Bench noted that the petitioner’s son had secured admission in First Standard under the 25% reservation quota in the academic year 2024–2025. The petitioner had accepted the said admission and a seat under the statutory reservation scheme was occupied in the concerned school. The petitioner subsequently discontinued his son’s education in that school for personal reasons. As a consequence, the petitioner’s son lost an academic year, and the seat allotted under the welfare scheme also remained unutilized.
“If the interpretation suggested by the petitioner were to be accepted, it would permit a parent to repeatedly apply under the RTE scheme for the same child until a preferred school is obtained, even after availing the benefit of admission under the scheme earlier. Such a practice would seriously undermine the purpose of Section 12(1)(c) and would result in unfair exclusion of other eligible children who are waiting for admission under the limited 25% quota”, it noted.
The Bench was of the view that the petitioner’s insistence upon fresh admission in First Standard under the scheme for the academic year 2025–2026 was contrary to the spirit and scheme of the RTE Act. “The action of respondent Nos.3 and 4 in cancelling the admission of the petitioner’s son for the academic year 2025–2026 does not suffer from any illegality, arbitrariness or violation of statutory provisions”, it held while dismissing the Petition.
Cause Title: Sampatrao v. The State of Maharashtra (Neutral Citation: 2026:BHC-AUG:11220-DB)
Appearance
Petitioner: Advocate Ramrao G. Nirmal
Respondent: Additional Govt Pleader S. K. Tambe, Advocate R. K. Ingole