Title: Shreya Bhattacharya v. Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan & others
Decided on: 9th october 2023
WP.No.12893 of 2023 & WMP.Nos.12684 & 16329 of 2023
CORAM: JUSTICE N.SESHASAYEE
Introduction
The high Court of Judicature at Madras in the case of a 14 year old girl’s admission to Kendraya Vidyalaya decided that the guideline must be relaxed to admit the girl stating that court will act against its Constitutional obligation if it shares the same sentiments that the respondent currently has towards its guideline on age for admission to KV.
Facts of the case
A girl who is the daughter of a non-commissioned Air Force officer, seeks a seat in Class VIII in the Kendraya Vidyalaya school located at the Air Force Campus, Tambaram. Her entry to Kendraya Vidyalaya was resisted on the ground that she is not in the age group between 12 and 14 years on the relevant cut-off date as per the Guidelines. The petitioner was ineligible as she was aged 14 years and 2 months. The petitioner has challenged the Guidelines of Kendraya Vidyalaya, principally on the ground that it violates Article 21A of the Constitution and Sec. 3 of the Right of Children to Free & Compulsory Education Act, 2009, besides going against the policy of automatic admission of the children of service men.
Court Analysis and Decision
Court observed that the petitioner earlier studied in Army Public School and in terms of the admission guidelines, wards of the service men in armed forces are entitled to automatic admission on the basis of the transfer certificate issued by the CBSE affiliated schools.
Article 21A finds a place in Part III of the Constitution, in essence, has created a duty on the State to provide free and compulsory education to children in the age group of 6 to 14 years. If the Admission Guidelines of KV is now tested for its validity on the basis of these provisions, it must be said that they do not run tangential to any of them, since the age limit it prescribes for admission to class I is from 6 years to 8 years, and has accordingly prescribed 12 years to 14 years for class VIII, depending on when the student joins Class I.
The Court reminded Kendraya Vidyalaya, that on 24th January every year, this nation celebrates National Girl Child Day. Four days prior to that on 20th January Shreya Bhattacharya celebrates her birthday. The National Girl Child Day is not for holding a function for a photo session for a souvenir to be published later in the year by the school, but for engraving the theme of the girl child, her growth, in the collective consciousness of society, and the need for respecting the rights of a girl child of which her right to education is a part. The judge expressed that the respondents would have been appreciated, if they had approached the issue with reasonable sensitivity to the difficulties of adolescent girl of 14 years owing to her daily commutation of 30 km for her schooling merely because she is over age by two months. The problem is not with the Guidelines per se but, is the failure of its framers to modify its provisions to relax the age criterion in appropriate cases.
It was concluded that the case of Shreya is not completely within the ambit of Article 21A, but it is also a case under Article 21. Between upholding the inflexibility of a bunch of printed papers that pass by the name, the ‘guideline on age’, and the life of young Shreya, this court considers that Shreya’s right to life, her right to easy and hassle-free education is supreme. The respondent-Kendraya Vidyalaya is directed by the court to admit the petitioner to Class VIII, relaxing the age criterion only and not any other criteria required for admission. It is clarified that the exception to age-criterion as provided in the Guidelines may be made only to meet exceptional situations such as the present one.
“PRIME LEGAL is a full-service law firm that has won a National Award and has more than 20 years of experience in an array of sectors and practice areas. Prime legal fall into a category of best law firm, best lawyer, best family lawyer, best divorce lawyer, best divorce law firm, best criminal lawyer, best criminal law firm, best consumer lawyer, best civil lawyer.”
Written by- K R Bhuvanashri
