Dinesh Biwaji Ashtikar vs State Of Maharashtra

2026 INSC 56 REPORTABLE

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

SPECIAL LEAVE PETITION (CIVIL) NO. 10105 OF 2017

DINESH BIWAJI ASHTIKAR …PETITIONER(S)

Versus

STATE OF MAHARASHTRA & ORS. …RESPONDENT(S)

JUDGMENT

1. The obligation of a “neighbourhood school” to admit children belonging

to weaker and disadvantaged sections of our society, to the extent of twenty-

five percent of the class strength, under Section 12 of the Right of Children

to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 1 has the extraordinary capacity

to transform the social structure of our society. Earnest implementation can

truly be transformative. It is not only a step towards educating young India,

but also a substantive measure in securing the preambular objective of

‘equality of status’. The constitutional declaration of the right under Article

21A, followed by the statutory mandate under Section 3 of the Act for free Signature Not Verified Digitally signed by Jayant Kumar Arora Date: 2026.01.13 17:24:04 IST Reason:

1 Hereinafter referred to as the Act.

Page 1 of 23 and compulsory elementary education can be realised only with effective

implementation of the provisions of the Act. We have held that ensuring

admission of such students must be a national mission and an obligation of

the appropriate government and the local authority. Equally, Courts, be it

constitutional or civil, must walk that extra mile to provide easy access and

efficient relief to parents who complain of denial of the right.

2. We need not refer to the detailed facts of the case as by the time our

attention was drawn to this special leave petition, the time within which

effective relief could be granted to the petitioner had long passed. The

petitioner had approached a ‘neighbourhood school’ for admitting his

children for free and compulsory elementary education way back in 2016. It

is his case that, even though information through RTI indicated that seats

were available, the neighbourhood school did not respond. Therefore, he

was compelled to approach the High Court by filing a writ petition under

Article 226 of the Constitution. However, by the order impugned before us,

the High Court turned back the petitioner on the ground that, “the petitioner

had failed to take up appropriate steps to admit his kids in the free education

quota, the petitioner must blame himself.” The “appropriate steps” that the

High Court was referring to pertained to the alleged failure to apply as per

the online procedure for filling up the twenty-five percent seats for children

Page 2 of 23 of weaker and disadvantaged sections. This is despite the fact that the

primary education officer of the Zila Parishad, Gondia had addressed a letter

to the Deputy Education Officer to admit petitioner’s children, though online

procedure had not been followed, as his house is within 3 kms of the

neighbourhood school and also that he comes from a very poor family.

Further, the petitioner had also placed before the authorities RTI information

that 648 seats are still lying vacant.

3. Unfortunately, the Special Leave Petition against the High Court’s

order has been pending in this Court for a long time without appropriate

orders and many years have passed by. The standard submission that we

hear at the Bar, when such unfortunate cases are called for hearing is that–

“the matter has become infructuous”. Sadly, this is true for the purpose of

decision making on the facts of this case. However, in order to ensure that

this situation shall not revisit parents like the petitioner again and again, we

considered it appropriate to take up the case for precedent making and

decided to examine the efficiency and effectiveness of the procedures for

complying with the mandate of Section 12. We, therefore, appointed Shri

Senthil Jagadeesan, learned senior counsel, as the amicus curiae to assist

the Court.

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4. The learned amicus curiae has brought to our notice the inaccessibility

of twenty-five percent of class strength in a neighbourhood school to children

belonging to weaker and disadvantaged groups under Section 12 for

multifarious reasons. He would submit that the online application process to

access the Right under Section 12 ignores the prevalent digital illiteracy.

Apart from that, he also highlighted the language barrier and lack of help-

desks to assist the parents/guardians. In addition to this, lack of information

about the availability of seats, absence of transparency in the admission

process and uncertainty about the forums for redressal of grievances are

some of the issues highlighted by the learned amicus curiae. Before we deal

with the text of Section 12, which we will in due course, it is also necessary

to examine the context in which it is located in the scheme of the Act and the

constitutional mandate.

A True Understanding of the Fundamental Right to Education.

5. Article 21A declares the fundamental right to free and compulsory

education of all children of the age of 6 to 14 years.

“Article 21A. Right to Education – The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years in such manner as the State may, by law, determine.”

Page 4 of 23 The obligation that the, “State shall provide free and compulsory education

in such manner as maybe determined by law”, translates into the 2009

legislation, the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act.

“Section 3. Right of child to free and compulsory education – (1) Every child of the age of six to fourteen years, including a child referred to in clause (d) or clause (e) of section 2, shall have the right to free and compulsory education in a neighbourhood school till the completion of his or her elementary education.”

6. It is important to recognize that the Constitution declares elementary

education as a fundamental right, as against many other liberties, which are

in the nature of fundamental freedoms. The consequence of identifying the

right to elementary education as a positive right is the recognition of co-

relative duties and identification of five duty bearers, being (i) the appropriate

government, (ii) the local authority, (iii) the neighbourhood schools, (iv) the

parents/guardians, and (v) the primary school teachers. It is important to

highlight the obligations and duties of these duty bearers in detail not only

for accountability, but also to ensure that they have sufficient support from

the Government and the society.

6.1 The first duty bearer; is the “appropriate Government”. The duty of the

appropriate Government to establish neighbourhood schools is prescribed in

Section 6.

Page 5 of 23 “Section 6. Duty of appropriate Government and local authority to establish school - For carrying out the provisions of this Act, the appropriate Government and the local authority shall establish, within such area or limits of neighbourhood, as may be prescribed, a school, where it is not so established, within a period of three years from the commencement of this Act.”

The financial responsibilities under the Act are shared between the Central

and the State Governments under Section 7. Further duties upon

establishing the neighbourhood schools are prescribed in Section 8, which

inter alia mandate that the appropriate government shall, “ensure availability

of a neighbourhood school as specified in Section 6”.

6.2 The second duty bearer; is the “local authority”2. To ensure

implementation of the right at the grassroot level, Section 9 obligates the

local authority to ensure availability of a neighbourhood school as specified

in Section 6 (Section 9(b)), maintain records of children up to the age of

fourteen years (Section 9(d)) and also ensure and monitor admission,

attendance and completion of elementary education by every child residing

within its jurisdiction (Section 9(e)). The relevant part of Section 9 is as

follows -

“Section 9. Duties of local authority.- Every local authority shall—

2 Section 2(h) -“local authority” means a Municipal Corporation or Municipal Council or Zila Parishad or

Nagar Panchayat or Panchayat, by whatever name called, and includes such other authority or body having administrative control over the school or empowered by or under any law for the time being in force to function as a local authority in any city, town or village;

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(b) ensure availability of a neighbourhood school as specified in section 6;

(d) maintain records of children up to the age of fourteen years residing within its jurisdiction, in such manner as may be prescribed;

(e) ensure and monitor admission, attendance and completion of elementary education by every child residing within its jurisdiction.”

6.3 The third duty bearer; is the neighbourhood school. Under Section 12,

a neighbourhood school is impressed with the responsibility of providing free

and compulsory education. Section 12 articulates the responsibility of a

neighbourhood school in the following terms -

“Section 12. Extent of school's responsibility for free and compulsory education.-

(1) For the purposes of this Act, a school,—

(a) specified in sub-clause (i) of clause (n) of section 2 shall provide free and compulsory elementary education to all children admitted therein;

(b) specified in sub-clause (ii) of clause (n) of section 2 shall provide free and compulsory elementary education to such proportion of children admitted therein as its annual recurring aid or grants so received bears to its annual recurring expenses, subject to a minimum of twenty-five per cent.;

(c) specified in sub-clauses (iii) and (iv) of clause (n) of section 2 shall admit in class I, to the extent of at least twenty-five percent of the strength of that class, children belonging to weaker section and disadvantaged group in the neighbourhood and provide free and compulsory elementary education till its completion:

Provided further that where a school specified in clause (n) of section 2 imparts pre-school education, the provisions of clauses (a) to (c) shall apply for admission to such pre-school education.

(2) The school specified in sub-clause (iv) of clause (n) of section 2 providing free and compulsory elementary education as specified in clause (c) of sub-section (1) shall be reimbursed expenditure so incurred by it to the extent of per-child-expenditure incurred by the State, or the actual amount charged from the child, whichever is less, in such manner as may be prescribed:

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Provided that such reimbursement shall not exceed per-child-

expenditure incurred by a school specified in sub-clause (i) of clause (n) of section 2:

Provided further that where such school is already under obligation to provide free education to a specified number of children on account of it having received any land, building, equipment or other facilities, either free of cost or at a concessional rate, such school shall not be entitled for reimbursement to the extent of such obligation.

(3) Every school shall provide such information as may be required by the appropriate Government or the local authority, as the case may be.”

The definition of ‘School’ takes within its fold any recognised school imparting

education and includes (i) governmental school, (ii) aided school receiving

grants, (iii) schools belonging to specified categories such as the Kendriya

Vidyalaya etc. and most importantly, (iv) unaided school not receiving any

grants. With respect to the specified and unaided schools not receiving any

grants, Section 12 mandates that the “neighborhood schools” shall admit in

Class I, to the extent of at least twenty-five percent of the strength of that

class, children belonging to weaker section and disadvantaged group for free

and compulsory education. We will be examining this obligation of the school

under Section 12(1)(c) in detail.

6.4 The fourth duty bearer; is the Parent. This duty is now constitutionally

recognised in Article 51A(k) of the Constitution.

“51A. Fundamental duties.- It shall be the duty of every citizen of India-

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(k) who is a parent or guardian to provide opportunities for education to his child or, as the case may be, ward between the age of six and fourteen years”.

Following the constitutional mandate, Section 10 of the Act mandates every

parent to perform this pious duty.

“10. Duty of parents and guardian - It shall be the duty of every parent or guardian to admit or cause to be admitted his or her child or ward, as the case may be, to an elementary education in the neighbourhood school.”

6.5 The fifth duty bearer; is the elementary school teacher. There is no

human resource or value higher than development of a student’s mind and

character. Therefore, the elementary school teachers have the most

important role in nation building and as such, they have to be treated with

utmost respect and care. A society that does not take care of its elementary

school teachers is bound to fail in securing the constitutional objective.

The Constitutional Philosophy & Mandate of Section 12.

7. It is necessary to underscore two foundational constitutional values

that Section 12 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education

Act, 2009 (RTE Act) is designed to articulate and secure. The first, in

unequivocal terms, mandates that not less than twenty-five percent of the

strength of an entry-level class shall be reserved for and filled by children

belonging to “weaker sections” and “disadvantaged groups”, who are thereby

Page 9 of 23 guaranteed access to free elementary education. The second is that such

children are to be admitted to unaided schools in their neighbourhood,

thereby embedding within the statutory framework the principle that the

constitutional promise of education under Article 21A is to be realised

through common local schools rather than segregated or parallel systems.

The legislative choice to implement the right to free and compulsory

education through neighbourhood schools is not merely administrative; it is

a deliberate constitutional strategy to operationalise equality of status,

dignity, and social integration among children in their formative years. In

sustaining Section 12, the Supreme Court has recognised that the rights of

children carry corresponding obligations on the State to “respect, protect and

fulfill” those rights and to regulate private educational institutions so that

children’s rights are not violated even in non-State spheres.

8. Properly understood, this statutory design is normatively ambitious. It

envisages elementary education for all children, across the spectrum of

class, caste, gender and economic position, in a shared institutional space.

It makes it possible, normatively and structurally, for the child of a multi-

millionaire or even of a Judge of the Supreme Court of India to sit in the same

classroom and at the same bench as the child of an autorickshaw driver or

a street vendor. This is the manner in which Section 12 seeks to concretise

Page 10 of 23 the constitutional principle of fraternity alongside equality and liberty. A

correct appreciation of fraternity must displace the traditional but mistaken

view, often repeated in constitutional discourse, that it is not an enforceable

value. Our constitutional jurisprudence compels us to read fraternity as a

value requiring the State to structure institutions that nurture co-existence,

mutual respect, and a sense of common membership. Unlike equality and

liberty, which are frequently framed as individual rights-claims, fraternity is

relational; it operates through institutional arrangements that enable

individuals to “lose suspect identities” based on caste, class or other

hierarchies and to form solidaristic bonds. In this sense, the 25% inclusion

under Section 12, in unaided neighbourhood schools, is not an isolated

welfare measure but a vehicle through which the constitutional commitment

to fraternity and the “development of the child” as recognised in Article 21A

and Article 39(f) is sought to be realised.

9. The emphasis on “neighbourhood schools” is rooted in the National

System of Education, as elaborated in the Kothari Commission Report,

which recommended a Common School System whereby all children,

irrespective of social or economic background, would attend the same

neighbourhood schools and learn together in an integrated, non-segregated

environment. This model envisages the school as a common civic space that

Page 11 of 23 breaks down barriers of caste, class and gender, and thereby advances

substantive equality and social justice. The neighbourhood common school

system under the RTE Act envisages that each child must have access to a

neighbourhood school and such a system is central to the project of

democratising schooling and reducing entrenched social inequalities. The

policy rationale underlying Section 12 of the RTE Act is evident from the

following statement of the Ministry of Human Resource Development;

“The idea that schooling should act as a means of social cohesion and inclusion is not new; it has been oft repeated. Inequitable and disparate schooling reinforces existing social and economic hierarchies, and promotes in the educated sections of society an indifference towards the plight of the poor.

The currently used term ‘inclusive’ education implies, as did earlier terms like ‘common’ and ‘neighbourhood’ schools, that children from different backgrounds and with varying interests and ability will achieve their highest potential if they study in a shared classroom environment. The idea of inclusive schooling is also consistent with Constitutional values and ideals, especially with the ideals of fraternity, social justice and equality of opportunity.

For children of socio-economically weaker backgrounds to feel at home in private schools, it is necessary that they form a substantial proportion or critical mass in the class they join. The relevant universe in which the proportion needs to be considered is the class/section. It is for this reason that the RTE Act provides for admission of 25% children from disadvantaged groups and weaker sections in class I only. This implies that these children cannot be pooled together in a separate section or afternoon shift. Any arrangement which segregates, or treats these children in a differentiated manner vis-à- vis the fee-paying children will be counter-productive.

The rationale for 25% lies in the fact that the composition of caste/class indicated in the Census is fairly representative of the composition of children who are seeking admission under this provision. As per Census 2001, SCs constitute 16.2%, and STs constitute 8.2% (total 24.4%) of the population. Further, the Tendulkar Committee, set up by

Page 12 of 23 the Planning Commission to measure poverty, has estimated the below poverty line (BPL) population to be 37.2%. It is a fact that much of the population that suffers economic deprivation also suffers from social disadvantage. Thus, taken together, the figure of 25% for admission of children from disadvantaged groups and weaker sections is considered reasonable. Any lower proportion would jeopardize the long-term goal of the policy which is to strengthen social cohesion and bring out the best human resource potential inherent in our society as a whole. A smaller proportion would serve only a token purpose, and it will run the serious risk of creating the feeling of alienation among the children belonging to disadvantaged groups and weaker sections. Their participation in classroom interaction will be neither strong nor sufficiently manifest to enrich the overall experiential learning taking place in any given subject area. Only a critical mass can play such a role.

The RTE Act provides for admission of 25% children from disadvantaged groups and weaker sections in Class I, not across the whole school. As children admitted to class I move to class II, new children will be admitted to class I, and so on till completion of 8 years of elementary education. The rationale for admission in class I only must be appreciated in human terms. Teachers who are used to a selective, homogeneous classroom environment cannot be expected to develop the required positive attitude and professional skills to deal with a diversified class overnight. The same applies to children. Children who have grown up to an age of nine or ten in a homogeneous or segregated environment have been socialized into a structure of norms and behaviour. They cannot be transformed on demand. Also, the overall school ethos cannot be expected to respond to a new policy in a positive manner all of a sudden. Education is indeed an act of faith and social engineering - but not quick-fix social engineering. In view of the fact that children take time to socialize and teachers take time to develop new attitudes and pedagogic skills, the RTE Act provides for admission of disadvantaged and poor children at the entry level, covering pre-school and Class I. With these children moving up, and a new cohort of children entering pre-school and Class I in each successive year, the school will gradually have a more diverse population spread across all classes. Progression at this pace will allow children the opportunity to grow up together and create bonds: bonds that can survive social walls. Progression at this pace can allow the school to develop the professional capacity to respond to the intellectual and emotional needs of children from diverse backgrounds. Children who are younger than eight years of age are yet to develop a stable social identity. Their values are still forming, and their motivation to derive meaning from experience, both concrete and social is very strong. Therefore, it is a valid argument that the

Page 13 of 23 policy of mixing children from different socio-economic strata has the best chance of succeeding if it starts from the formative years of nursery/kindergarten and Class I. Diversity enhances learning and development, while segregation impoverishes the classroom environment of all schools, private or government.

Admission of 25% children from disadvantaged groups and weaker sections in the neighbourhood is not merely to provide avenues of quality education to poor and disadvantaged children. The larger objective is to provide a common place where children sit, eat and live together for at least eight years of their lives across caste, class and gender divides in order that it narrows down such divisions in our society. The other objective is that the 75% children who have been lucky to come from better endowed families, learn through their interaction with the children from families who haven't had similar opportunities, but are rich in knowledge systems allied to trade, craft, farming and other services, and that the pedagogic enrichment of the 75% children is provided by such intermingling. This will of course require classroom practices, teacher training, etc. to constantly bring out these pedagogic practices, rather than merely make children from these two sections sit together. The often voiced concern about how the 25% children from disadvantaged groups and weaker sections can cope in an environment where rich children exist can be resolved when the teaching learning process and teachers use these children as sources of knowledge so that their esteem and recognition goes up and they begin to be treated as equals.”

10. Our concern is about the effective, rather, the ineffective

implementation of the mandate under Section 12 of the Act. We have to

ensure admission of at least twenty-five percent of class strength in unaided

schools with children of weaker and disadvantaged groups. This is certainly

a national mission. Effective implementation of the statutory policy will be

transformative and, in this regard, each one of us, be it the institution or an

individual, be it the Central or the State Governments, Advisory Councils or

Commissions are duty bearers. The most important role is of the

Page 14 of 23 neighbourhood schools and its teachers. In this mission, the judiciary also

bears the burden to ensure that the process of admission is easily

accessible, effective and efficient. Court must also ensure that judicial

remedies against inaction or inefficiency are redressed effectively and

expeditiously. It is in this context that we have examined the procedure and

practice for implementing Section 12 of the Act.

11. Considering the importance of implementing the purpose and object of

the Act, Parliament has assigned the task of reviewing, monitoring and

redressing the grievances arising under the Act to the National and State

Commissions for Protection of Child Rights 3 under Section 31 of the Act.

“Section 31. Monitoring of child's right to education.—(1) The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights constituted under section 3, or, as the case may be, the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights constituted under section 17, of the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005 (4 of 2006), shall, in addition to the functions assigned to them under that Act, also perform the following functions, namely:—

(a) examine and review the safeguards for rights provided by or under this Act and recommend measures for their effective implementation;

(b) inquire into complaints relating to child's right to free and compulsory education; and

(c) take necessary steps as provided under sections 15 and 24 of the said Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act. (2) The said Commissions shall, while inquiring into any matters relating to child's right to free and compulsory education under clause

(c) of sub-section (1), have the same powers as assigned to them respectively under sections 14 and 24 of the said Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act.

(3) Where the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has not been constituted in a State, the appropriate Government may, for the purpose of performing the functions specified in clauses (a) to (c) of

3 Hereinafter referred to as “the NCPCR” and “the SCPCRs”.

Page 15 of 23 sub-section (1), constitute such authority, in such manner and subject to such terms and conditions, as may be prescribed.”

12. The Commissions are established under Sections 3 and 17 of the

Commission for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005. In exercise of its

statutory duty, NCPCR issued Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for

implementation of Section 12(1)(c) of the Act. The preamble of the SOP is

as follows:

“Through the redressal of grievances and feedback during different formal and informal meetings/consultations, it came to NCPCR’s notice that different mechanism and modalities are being followed by the States/UTs based on their interpretation of the said provision. To examine the compliance of the above-mentioned clause in true spirit and to understand ground reality NCPCR undertook a study on implementation of the provision in private unaided schools of Delhi. The findings of the study revealed challenges faced by all stakeholders involved specially the children and parents. Most importantly, it helped to discover the issues right from the process of admission to the inclusion of children admitted under this section in the school. Consequently, the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Implementation of Section 12(1)(c) of the RTE Act, 2009 has been developed to present a systematic mechanism/procedure to be followed by the State Governments in making the entire process streamlined and transparent.”

13. Learned amicus curiae also brought to our notice SOP for Delhi and

the relevant rules for the State of Maharashtra. He has also placed on record

certain other material having a direct bearing on the issue under

consideration. A statement of joint suggestions made by the amicus curiae

and the learned Additional Solicitor General (ASG) is also placed before us,

Page 16 of 23 highlighting the concerns and identifying areas requiring improvement. The

issues and suggestions are as follows:

(i) Implementation of Section 12 by the States/UTs and providing online

portal for admission: Presently, all States and Union Territories have neither

implemented the mandate of Section 12, nor established a portal dedicated

to ensuring a transparent admission process.

(ii) Language: It is suggested that all States and Union Territories should

provide information in at least three languages – two being the official

languages (Hindi and English) and the third being the local language of the

area concerned.

(iii) Information and assistance: Information regarding the admission

process has to be made available to parents and guardians.

(iv) Transparency: Schools should be directed to publish the number of

available seats for children belonging to disadvantages groups and weaker

sections much in advance and before the application stage commences.

(v) Establishment of help-desks and pro-active assistance during the

application stage: Either the designated school staff, the District Education

Officer, the Block Officer, the Block Committee Office or the Jan Sewa

Kendras must set up help-desks to assist parents for completing the

application process.

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(vi) Window for clearance of defects: Instead of simpliciter rejection of a

defective application, a defect clearance window should be established with

an assistant to clear mistakes.

(vii) Complaints: A redressal mechanism for complaints by

parents/guardians should be set up and the grievances must be resolved

within strict timelines.

(viii) Transparency in denial of admissions: Denial of admissions should be

recorded and uploaded with reasons and the same should be reviewed by

the Block Education Officer within 72 hours.

(ix) Training: Training must be imparted to prevent discrimination of

children belonging to disadvantaged groups and weaker sections.

14. The suggestions of the learned amicus curiae and the learned ASG,

seen in the context of SOP issued by NCPCR may be restated. In fact,

NCPCR’s SOP is structured in three stages, (i) the first relates to the

preparatory stage, (ii) the second stage relates to processing applications,

selection and admission and (iii) the third stage relates to procedure after

completion of admission. To ensure a smooth and transparent admission

process and in order to enable eligible children to access the right of

admission under Section 12(1)(c), the following steps should be taken –

Page 18 of 23 14.1 Preparatory Stage

(i) Finalization of seats: The schools should be given 20 working days

to submit the requisite data of the declared strength for purpose of Section

12(1)(c).

(ii) Advertisement: Appropriate Government and local authority should

advertise the schedule of admission under Section 12(1)(c) in print and

electronic media as well as locally used medium of broadcasting/publicising

important announcements, especially in rural areas. This shall contain all the

essential information regarding the admission process.

(iii) Schedule of admission: A calendar for admission under Section

12(1)(c) shall be scheduled in such a manner that the admission process is

completed before beginning of admission of children under DG/EWS

category. This is to be done at least two months from the commencement of

the next academic year.

(iv) Centralized online system: The appropriate Government shall

develop centralized online portal for admission under Section 12(1)(c). The

joint suggestions recognize the existence of digital illiteracy and have

suggested that the process must be accessible with the aid of help-desks

etc., to bridge the gap of digital divide.

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(v) Criteria: for determining children belonging to disadvantaged

groups and weaker sections must have clarity and simplicity.

(vi) Documents: The requirement of documents necessary for

processing the application for admission must be clearly mentioned.

(vii) Information about the school: It is necessary to ensure that the

school is fully prepared and ready to undertake the process of admission

effectively and efficiently. Public awareness in the local area about the

admission process is necessary. The school as well as local authority have

an obligation to disseminate this information.

(viii) Dispute settlement: Dispute Settlements Committees must be

set up and their availability must be made known.

14.2 Processing Applications, Selection and Admission

(i) Help-desks: The local authority, respective neighbourhood

schools and non-governmental organisations shall set up help-desks for free

of cost facilitation of parents/guardian in filling the form on the online portal

and other connected steps. For this purpose, assistance under the Common

Service Centres Scheme shall also be made readily available.

(ii) Selection criteria: The criteria employed for giving preference to

one applicant over the another and the process of draw of lots shall be laid

out in simple and clear terms, and it must be widely published.

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(iii) Scrutiny of applications: Scrutiny of applications shall be carried

out by zonal/local teams, as directed to be constituted as per SOP notified

by the GNCTD of Delhi dated 02.01.2025, instead of private unaided

recognized schools.

(iv) Window for correction of defects: No application shall be

summarily rejected on the ground of deficiency of required documents

without first giving an opportunity for correction. For this purpose, a set

timeline and procedure for providing window of correction shall be

prescribed, taking specific guidance from the NCPCR’s SOP in this regard.

(v) Dispute resolution: Easy and effective mechanism for dispute

resolution under Section 32 or by the Dispute Settlement Committee must

be formulated.

14.3 After Completion of Admission Process

(i) Speaking order: The outcome of selection must be published

through a speaking order.

(ii) Admission process: The online portal shall notify school-wise list

of children selected. An updated record of the children taking admission must

be maintained.

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(iii) Initiation of inquiry: The authorities must monitor and keep a

constant watch. In case there is a trend noticed with respect to reserved

seats going vacant in a specific school, the causes must be enquired into.

(iv) Post-admission: The basic essentials for effective inclusion post

admission must be undertaken.

(v) Reimbursement: Per-Child Expenditure reimbursement must be

done without delay.

(vi) Finality of selection: The admitted children shall not be subjected

to any further scrutiny by the respective schools.

15. The above referred procedure, as indicated in the SOP issued by

NCPCR, is only in the nature of guidelines. These guidelines do not partake

the character of enforceable rules, violation of which would render the duty

bearers answerable to the reviewing or controlling authority. Uncertainty

about the obligation to comply with the requirements would also make judicial

review complicated. We are of the opinion that it is necessary and compelling

to formulate subordinate legislation by issuing necessary rules and

regulations, prescribing the method and manner by which children of weaker

and disadvantaged sections are to be admitted in neighbourhood schools.

Without such enforceable rules and regulations, the object of Article 21A and

the statutory policy under Section 12(1)(c) would be a dead letter.

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16. In view of the above, we direct the appropriate authorities to prepare

and issue, in consultation with the NCPCR and SCPCRs, as the case may

be, as well as the National and State Advisory Councils, necessary rules and

regulations under Section 38 of the Act for implementing the mandate of

Section 12(1)(c) of the Act.

16.1 We direct that the NCPCR, New Delhi shall be impleaded as a party

respondent. The copy of our order shall be sent to the Commission for

compliance and monitoring.

16.2 We further direct the Commission to collate information about the

issuance of rules and regulations by the appropriate Governments of the

States and Union Territories and file an affidavit before this Court by 31st of

March, 2026.

16.3 List this Special Leave Petition for further hearing on 6th of April, 2026.

………………………………....J. [PAMIDIGHANTAM SRI NARASIMHA]

………………………………....J. [ATUL S. CHANDURKAR] NEW DELHI;

JANUARY 13, 2026

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