'Approach Centre': Supreme Court on PIL to regulate all institutions imparting education to children below 14 years

A bench of Justices asked the petitioner, Advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, to make a representation before the Union of India.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday asked a petitioner to approach the Centre with his plea seeking directions to regulate all institutions that impart education or religious instructions to children below the age of 14 years.

A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma asked the petitioner, Advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, to make a representation before the Union of India.

"We dispose of this writ petition with a direction to Respondent No 1 (Centre) to look into the representation of the petitioner dated February 4, 2026, and take an appropriate decision thereon. The decision taken shall be communicated to the petitioner," the bench said.

When Upadhyay continued to press his plea, the bench said, "You are before a bench with judges who are very conservative and traditional. We don't jump the gun."

The bench further observed, "Justice is not a one-way road. The executive also has a role to play in it."

The plea, filed through Advocate Ashwani Dubey, had sought directions to "take appropriate steps to register, recognise, supervise and monitor all institutions imparting secular education or religious instructions to children up to the age of 14 years in the spirit of Article 21A read with Article 39(f), 45 and 51-A(k)."

The petition stated that Article 30 does not grant any special or additional rights to minorities beyond what is already guaranteed under Article 19(1)(g).

"Direct and declare that Article 30 is a specific reiteration of Article 19(1)(g) and doesn't confer any additional rights, benefits or privileges than the rights guaranteed to the citizens under Article 19(1)(g)," the plea said.

"Petitioner is filing the Public Interest Litigation under Article 32 for registration, recognition, supervision, and monitoring of all institutions imparting secular or religious education to children up to 14 years in the spirit of Article 21A, 39(f), 45 and 51-A(k).

"Petitioner submits that children are the backbone of the nation's growth and are also gullible and naive due to their tender age. Hence, the State has heightened responsibility towards them. This is an issue of national security as young kids (who) form the future of the nation, can be brainwashed or manipulated in the unregistered institution," it said.

Upadhyay, in his plea, has claimed that he visited several districts along the Uttar Pradesh border, where numerous unregistered and unrecognised institutions were allegedly found operating.

He said unregistered and unrecognised institutions are proliferating across the border areas of the country without any effective oversight or regulatory mechanism.