New Delhi, Oct 13: The Supreme Court has rejected a plea challenging the Delhi High Court’s decision to not direct the lieutenant governor to provide assent to or return a 2015 bill proposing a ban on screening children for nursery admissions.
A bench comprising Justice SK Kaul and Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia stated that it cannot issue a directive to enact a law. The bench remarked, “Can there be a mandamus to enact a law? Can we direct the government to introduce the bill? The Supreme Court can’t be the panacea for everything.”
On July 3, the high court had dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by NGO Social Jurist, stating that it could not interfere with the legislative process and instruct the lieutenant governor to either grant assent to the Delhi School Education (Amendment) Bill, 2015, or return it.
The organization, represented by advocate Ashok Agarwal, filed an appeal in the Supreme Court, contending that the child-friendly bill prohibiting the screening process for nursery admissions in schools had remained in limbo for the past seven years without justification and against the public interest and public policy.
Rejecting the PIL, a division bench of the Delhi High Court stated that it was not appropriate for a high court, while exercising its jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution, to instruct a governor, a constitutional authority, to set a timeframe for matters that are entirely within his purview.
According to the high court’s 2013 decision, the government could consider amending the law to ensure that children seeking nursery admission also receive the benefits of the Right to Education Act. The 2009 law grants free and compulsory education to all children aged 6 to 14 as a fundamental right.
The NGO claimed that it submitted a representation to the authorities on March 21, 2023, urging them to expedite the finalization of the Bill. However, on April 11, the Centre responded that the bill had not yet been finalized by the two governments.
More than 1.5 lakh nursery-level admissions occur annually in private schools in Delhi, with children over three years old subjected to screening, which contravenes the letter and spirit of the Right to Education Act of 2009. The NGO sought a court order instructing the authorities to expedite the process of finalizing the Bill, especially with regard to the prohibition of screening in pre-primary level admissions.
