New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday referred a petition challenging the constitutional validity of certain provisions of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) for appropriate orders. The development comes amid ongoing deliberations over whether the RTE Act should be extended to minority educational institutions.
A bench comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih directed that the present writ petition, filed under Article 32 of the Constitution, be placed before the CJI. The bench noted that a similar matter regarding the applicability of the RTE Act to minority schools is already under the CJI’s consideration, particularly whether a larger bench reference is warranted.
The petition challenges Sections 1(4) and 1(5) of the RTE Act. Section 1(4) states that the Act applies subject to Articles 29 and 30 of the Constitution, while Section 1(5) exempts Vedic Pathshalas and other schools imparting religious instruction from the Act’s primary obligations. According to the petitioner, these provisions allow minority schools to bypass the requirement for teachers to hold the Teachers’ Eligibility Test (TET) qualifications.
“The injury caused to children aged 6–14 years is extremely large because the Right to Education, guaranteed under Article 21-A read with Articles 14, 15, 16, 21, 38, 39, 46, implies ‘equal quality education’. Excluding certain schools from the TET requirement violates Articles 14, 19, 21, 21-A, 30, and the Golden Goals of the Constitution,” the plea argues.
The petition follows the Supreme Court’s 1 September judgment in Anjuman Ishaat E Taleem Trust v. State of Maharashtra, which mandated TET qualifications for teachers in non-minority schools. The petitioner contends that granting blanket exemptions to minority institutions undermines the intent of Article 21A, which guarantees free and compulsory education for all children between six and fourteen years of age. By differentiating based on institutional status, the petition maintains, Sections 1(4) and 1(5) infringe upon Article 14’s equality guarantee.
The plea further asserts that Article 30, which protects minority rights to establish and manage educational institutions, cannot override the State’s constitutional duty to ensure uniform educational standards and opportunities. The 1 September bench, also led by Justice Dipankar Datta along with Justice Manmohan, had expressed concerns over the 2014 Pramati Educational & Cultural Trust verdict. That five-judge Constitution Bench had ruled that the RTE Act does not apply to minority schools, a decision the court now considers potentially flawed.
The bench had remarked that applying the RTE Act to minority schools does not impinge upon their minority character under Article 30(1). The current petition, filed through Advocate-on-Record Ashwani Kumar Dubey, now awaits the CJI’s decision on whether a larger bench should examine the broader constitutional questions.
This development could set the stage for a landmark judgment clarifying the balance between minority rights and the fundamental right to education, potentially impacting thousands of schools across the country.