The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed that a plea concerning the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act be placed before the Chief Justice of India for further orders.
A bench comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih noted that a similar case on the applicability of the RTE Act to minority institutions was already pending adjudication before the apex court.
The latest petition was filed by Nitin Upadhyay, who sought clarity on whether schools providing both religious and secular education should be covered under the RTE Act.
Filed by advocate Ashwani Kumar Dubey, the petition challenged sections 1(4) and 1(5) of the Act, calling them arbitrary and contrary to provisions of the Constitution, including Article 14, which guarantees equality before law.
It argued that the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET), meant to ensure teaching quality, applied only to non-minority institutions, creating an imbalance in the education system.
"Petitioner is filing PIL under Article 32 seeking writ order or direction that RTE Act and Teacher Eligibility Test shall be uniformly applicable to all schools," the plea stated.
The top court had earlier expressed concern over its 2014 judgment in the Pramati Educational and Cultural Trust case, which excluded minority institutions from the RTE Act.
On September 1, it referred the matter to a larger bench, saying the ruling might have "unknowingly jeopardised the very foundation of universal elementary education".
It observed that exempting minority schools from the Act weakened the vision of inclusivity envisioned by Article 21A, which guarantees free and compulsory education for children aged six to fourteen.
The RTE Act, the court noted, ensures access to essentials like infrastructure, trained teachers, textbooks, uniforms and mid-day meals, benefits that minority schools currently need not provide.
The Supreme Court also framed four key questions, including whether its earlier ruling exempting minority educational institutions, aided or unaided, under Article 30(1) from the RTE Act should be reconsidered.
It urged the Chief Justice of India to assess whether the issues raised warrant a detailed hearing before a larger constitutional bench.