In a key order, the Supreme Court on Wednesday directed State governments to issue notifications allowing orphaned children to receive free education in private schools under the 25 per cent quota for children of weaker sections and disadvantaged groups.
A Bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and KV Viswanathan noted that States like Meghalaya, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, and Delhi have already issued notifications in this regard. Therefore, it ordered other States to do the same within four weeks.
"Delhi, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat... have already issued notifications to include orphans within the definition of Section 12(1)(c) of the RTE Act; other States shall also issue the same notification. Such exercise shall be completed within four weeks," the Court ordered.
Further, the Bench directed the States to undertake a survey of orphaned children who have been granted admissions to schools and those who have been rejected. The survey must record the reasons for denial of admission, the Court stressed.
"While this survey is done, simultaneous efforts should be made so that such (orphan) children are admitted to schools," the Court added.
The Bench passed these directions while dealing with a plea filed by advocate Poulomi Pavini Shukla seeking directions for standardised education, reservation, and a survey to count the orphan population in India.
She highlighted the lack of official data regarding orphaned children and said that it showed the country's indifference towards a vulnerable section of society.
Shukla appeared before the court today and argued that the Indian government does not maintain a count of orphaned children in the country, and the only reliable data comes from NGOs and independent organisations such as UNICEF, which estimate 29.6 million (2.96 crore) orphaned children in India. After considering the case, the Court said that the petition requires consideration and passed directions to the States.
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