SC affirms the right to school for all: India

The Supreme Court today upheld the constitutional validity of the Right to Education Act, 2009, which mandates 25 per cent free seats to the poor in government and private unaided schools across the country.

By a majority view, a three-judge bench of Chief Justice S H Kapadia and Justices K S Radhakrishnan and Swantanter Kumar said the Act will apply uniformly to government and unaided private schools, except unaided private minority schools.

However, in his dissenting opinion, Justice Radhakrishnan took the view that the Act would not apply to unaided private schools as well as minority institutions which do not receive any aid or grant from the government.

Justice Radhakrishnan’s view was overruled by Justices Kapadia and Swantanter Kumar who took the stand that the Act would be applicable even to unaided private schools.

The apex court clarified that its judgement will come into force from today and, hence, it will not apply to admissions granted before the enactment of the legislation. In other words, the apex court said the judgement will only have a prospective affect and not retrospective affect.

The three-judge bench had reserved its verdict on August 3 last year on a batch of petitions by private unaided institutions which had contended that the Act violates the rights of private educational institutions under Article 19(1)(g) which provided autonomy to private managements to run their institutions without governmental interference.

During the arguments

in the case, the Centre defended the law, saying it was aimed at uplifting the socially and economically weaker sections of the society.

— with PTI

source: http://www.IndianExpress.com / IE> Story / Express News Service / New Delhi / Thursday, April 12th, 2012

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