Delhi High Court: In a writ petition under Article of the filed to seek issuance of an appropriate writ, order, or direction to direct the Directorate of Education (‘DoE’), Government of NCT of Delhi (‘GNCTD’) along with other respondents to admit/enroll the petitioner in the Nursery/Pre-school class under the Economically Weaker Section (‘EWS’) category for the academic session 2024-25 in the Indraprastha World School (‘School’) (respondent 2), a Single Judge Bench of Swarana Kanta Sharma, J. found no grounds to direct the School to grant admission to the petitioner and issued directions to the DoE to issue notices/circulars in Hindi as well to enable the common community members to enjoy the fruits of a welfare legislation by removing the language barriers.
Background
In the present matter, the petitioner stated that despite being granted admission through a computerized draw of lots, the School had denied him admission. It was also mentioned that despite approaching the School several times, within the stipulated time period, the School did not accept the renewed income certificate of the petitioner’s parents.
The petitioner contended that the School had failed to comply with the circulars dated 15-05-2024 and 31-05-2024 and that the School, by its actions, was denying him the fundamental right to free and compulsory education of children between the ages of six to fourteen years which was enshrined under Article of the .
It was contended that the School’s discriminatory action of not letting the petitioner’s parents submit their documents for their child’s admission violated Articles , , and of the . It was further stated that the denial of admission by the School was also in violation of the statutory provisions of the (‘RTE Act’).
The School referred to para no. 11(a) of Circular dated 24-04-2024 which had been issued by DoE and provided that the income certificate that formed the basis of applying under the EWS category must have been issued before applying for the online admission process. Another circular dated 31-05-2024 had also been submitted before the Court which laid down the guidelines for admission under the EWS/DG category at the entry level.
Analysis and Decision
The Court stated that the issue for consideration in the present matter was whether the non-filing of the income certificate, due to its lack of validity at the time of applying for the online admission process, could justifiably result in the rejection of the allotment of school for admission to the applicant under the EWS category.
The Court noted that the Circular dated 24-04-2024 issued by the DoE specifically provided that the income certificate must be valid as per the guidelines as on the date of application for admission under the EWS/DG category. Thus, the Court opined that the petitioner had failed to produce a valid income certificate to the School which was a mandatory requirement for admission under the EWS category.
The Court disagreed with the contention of the petitioner wherein it was stated that the subsequently issued income certificate should be considered as a renewal of the old income certificate because, at the time of issuance of a fresh income certificate, the candidate is required to furnish fresh documents to the Revenue authorities who scrutinize the same and the income certificate that is issued remains valid for only six months.
Thus, the Court found no ground to direct the School to grant admission to the petitioner under the EWS category as he was not eligible to apply for the same, at the time of seeking admission.
Thus, the Court observed that the parents of the petitioner belonged to the economically weaker section and were not well-educated as was the case in many other matters. The Court said that such parents are often unaware of the specific requirements mandated by the DoE regarding the validity of an income certificate and the importance of uploading and producing a valid income certificate as on the date of applying for such admission.
The Court stated that this situation was exacerbated by the parents’ limited understanding of the English language and lack of awareness about the strict mandate regarding the validity of the income certificate.
The Court stated that in several past judgments, emphasis has been laid on the need for removing language barriers to enable the common community members to enjoy the fruits of a welfare legislation and opined that this oversight in the present matter was less due to negligence and more due to the parent’s lack of knowledge of the English language as well as clear understanding about the importance of a valid income certificate.
Thus, the Court directed that the notices/circulars issued by the DoE, which are related to admission under the EWS category should not be restricted to the English language. The Court specifically mentioned those notices/circulars that lay down the guidelines and mention the mandatory documents that are required to be uploaded by the parents of EWS candidates since the English language creates significant barriers in communication and compliance.
To ensure that all parents, regardless of their educational background or linguistic proficiency, have equal access to crucial information, the Court directed to also issue such notices in Hindi, which is a widely spoken language and is understood by a large segment of the population. The Court said that this dual language approach would help prevent future instances of non-compliance due to language barriers and ensure that the rights and opportunities are accessible to all citizens, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The Court directed the DoE to ensure through its various Education Officers that the information regarding the validity of the income certificate and other documents required to be furnished by the parents applying under the EWS category is widely spread and direction was also given for such information to be uploaded in Hindi for easy understanding of the general public of Delhi.
The Court directed the DoE to upload a video that explains the process of applying for admission under the EWS category, which would also include the mandate of filing a valid income certificate as well as an explanation of a valid income certificate and the other documents required. These videos were directed to be prepared with a dual-linguistic approach, i.e. both in Hindi and English as well as any other Indian language that may be deemed appropriate by the Director of the DoE or the State of Delhi.
Thus, the Court disposed of the petition.
[Master Harmanpreet Singh v. Directorate of Education, GNCTD, W.P.(C) 12093 of 2024, Decided on 02-09-2024]
Advocates who appeared in this case :
For Petitioner — Advocate Swathi Sukumar, Advocate Naveen Nagarjuna, Advocate Rishubh Agarwal, Advocate Ritik Raghuwanshi
For Respondents — ASC Karn Bhardwaj, Advocate Shubham Singh, Advocate Rajat Gaba, Advocate Saurabh Dahiya, Advocate Kamal Gupta, Advocate Tripti Gupta, Advocate Sparsh Aggarwal, Advocate Karan Chaudhary, Advocate Yosha Dutt
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