HC tell school to re-admit autistic Class 1 girl student

No child can be deprived merely due to the institutional unwillingness to adapt. It needs no emphasis that ‘inclusive education’ is not merely about access to education; it is about belongingness,” the judge ruled.

The Delhi High Court has directed GD Goenka School to re-admit an eight-year-old autistic girl in Class 1, ruling that educational institutions are duty-bound to accommodate children with special needs under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act.

The court said that inclusive education under the Act is not a symbolic ideal, but a legally enforceable right. (HT Archive)

Justice Vikas Mahajan in a ruling delivered on Tuesday, criticised the school’s failure to provide adequate support, observing that its actions amounted to a denial of the child’s statutory right to inclusive education.

The court said that inclusive education under the Act is not a symbolic ideal, but a legally enforceable right.

“No child can be deprived merely due to the institutional unwillingness to adapt. It needs no emphasis that ‘inclusive education’ is not merely about access to education; it is about belongingness. It is also about recognising that every child has a place in the classroom not because they are the same, but because they are different, and that difference enriches the learning environment for all,” the judge ruled.

The girl was initially admitted to GD Goenka School in 2021. After being diagnosed with mild autism in 2022, her mother requested a shadow teacher or special educator to assist her. The school, however, failed to provide the necessary support, pressuring the family until they withdrew her in January 2023.

In the 2024-25 session, she was again allotted a seat at GD Goenka under the children with special needs (CWSN) category, but the school refused admission. A subsequent allotment at Maxfort School, Pitampura, was also denied. Her parents then approached the Delhi High Court, seeking enforcement of her right to education.

The school, represented by advocate Kamal Gupta, opposed the petition, arguing there were no vacancies in the general or CWSN categories and that right to education must be weighed against seat limitations and institutional readiness.

He further argued that right to education in a neighbourhood or special school was contingent upon availability and suitability, and cannot override seat limitations or institutional readiness.

Rejecting the school’s defence, the court held in its 28-page verdict that its conduct reflected a regressive approach. “Her behaviour, flagged by the school, should have triggered support. Instead, the school’s response was one of distancing,” the order noted. “The actions of the school reveal an institutional approach that failed to evolve in consonance with the needs of the petitioner as a person with disabilities.”

Welcoming the decision, the girl’s lawyer, Ashok Agarwal, called it a landmark judgment. “This verdict fulfils the constitutional promise of inclusive education. Disabled children have been sidelined for far too long—this ruling is a vital corrective,” he said.