E-Paper
{RTE Act implementation} Can age relaxation be given to eligible students, HC asks Punjab
As per counsel Viren Sibal, the minor petitioners, through their parents, had approached this court, contending that the SOP, though formulated on paper, have not been effectively translated into the field.
The high court has asked the Punjab government whether age relaxation can be granted to the schoolchildren who were seeking admission for the academic session 2025- 2026 but could not make the cut due to delay in implementation of the standard operating procedure.
The directions were issued by the bench of justice Kuldeep Tiwari while hearing a petition having 97 children, who could not get the admission under the RTE Act as the state government had neither issued guidelines nor put in place standard operating procedure (SOP) pursuant to a high court order on implementation of RTE Act in February 2025. The court has now directed the state’s counsel to apprise the court in this regard by March 20.
As per counsel Viren Sibal, the minor petitioners, through their parents, had approached this court, contending that the SOP, though formulated on paper, have not been effectively translated into the field. The SOP was notified on March 20, 2025. However, state government failed to implement the high court order.
It was on February 19, 2025 the high court ordered all private unaided schools to reserve 25% of class 1 seats for students from the economically weaker section and directed the state to ensure compliance from the 2025–26 session as mandated under the central law enacted 15 years ago. However, the state has failed to comply with the order. A central government enactment, the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE) Act, 2009, has been implemented countrywide. However, in 2011, the Punjab government notified rules, in contravention of the central law, which resulted in preventing children from weaker sections from accessing private unaided schools.
A contempt petition is also pending before high court against the government for its failure to implement the February 19 order. The petition was filed by K S Raju Legal Trust, on whose petition the February 19 order had come.
In that case, during a hearing on March 10, the government was fined with ₹10,000 as it failed to file an affidavit within stipulated period of 10 days as directed by the high court. It was supplied a month after the February 4 order in this regard. This matter will be taken up on March 18.
Notably, in July 2025, the high court also issued notice to Punjab on a plea from the KS Raju Legal Trust demanding a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into alleged lapses in the implementation of RTE Act provisions by private schools in the state.
