SC refuses to consider PIL against exclusion of religious institutions from RTE Act

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to consider a PIL for a direction to the Centre to nullify those provisions under the Right to Education Act which excluded religious institutions from its ambit for being "arbitrary irrational and contrary" to the Constitution.

The top court, however, allowed petitioner BJP leader and advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay to approach the High Court.

Senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, appearing for the petitioner, submitted before a bench presided over by Justice L Nageswara Rao that there has to be a national curriculum. The exclusion of the RTE Act on certain institutions was creating a religious impression on the children as eight to 16 years was a crucial age.

The bench, however, told him to withdraw the PIL. The court also said it would grant liberty to the petitioner to approach the High Court.

The plea by Upadhyay said the Centre inserted Section 1(4) and 1(5) of the RTE Act to deprive educational excellence to Madrasas, Vedic Pathsalas and educational institutions imparting religious instructions from the law.

He claimed that Sections of 1(4) and 1(5) of the RTE Act not only offended Articles 14, 15, 16, 21, 21A but also contrary to Articles 38, 39 and 46 and Preamble of the Constitution.

"The prevailing system does not provide equal opportunity to all children as syllabus and curriculum varies for EWS, BPL, MIG, HIG and elite Class. It is necessary to state that purposive and harmonious construction of Article 14, 15, 16, 21, 21A with Articles 38, 39, 46 of the Constitution which confirm that education is a basic right of every child and the State cannot discriminate the most important right," it said.

The petitioner stated that the great golden goals as set out in Preamble will remain elusive until Sections 1(4), 1(5) of the RTE Act will be nullified and uniform education i.e. common syllabus common curriculum in mother language is made available to all children aged 6-14 years.

Towards this end, structured steps as a result of due deliberation, care and intelligence must be taken to achieve the goal of uniform education programme in furtherance of Sections 7(6) and 29 of the Act, in a time bound manner, he added.

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