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The Supreme Court connected Monday (June 15, 2026) sought responses from the Centre and the Punjab authorities connected a plea alleging nonaccomplishment to instrumentality the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (2009 Act) successful Punjab, peculiarly the mandate nether Section 12(1)(c) requiring backstage unaided schools to reserve 25% of entry-level seats for children from weaker sections and disadvantaged groups.
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At the outset of the hearing, a Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice V. Mohana asked the petitioner, who runs an NGO and appeared astatine the tribunal successful person, whether helium had conducted immoderate survey to substantiate the allegations.
“Have you been capable to place immoderate schools which are not implementing the Act?” the Bench asked.
K.S. Raju, the petitioner, submitted that the instrumentality remained unimplemented successful Punjab for the past 15 years. He further contended that the State’s inaction was successful wide breach of the Supreme Court’s 2012 judgement successful ‘Society for Unaided Private Schools of Rajasthan v. Union of India’, which upheld the law validity of the 2009 Act.
“A minimum of 50,000 students person to beryllium admitted [under the RTE Act]. As per authorities statistics, astir 2 lakh students are admitted each twelvemonth astatine the introduction level... This is simply a continuing grievance being agitated,” helium said.
However, the Bench referred to an affidavit antecedently filed by the State government, which stated that implicit 476 students belonging to economically weaker sections had been admitted to backstage schools. The Chief Justice accordingly asked Mr. Raju to behaviour a survey successful astatine slightest 1 territory to ascertain the fig of backstage schools and however galore of them had not complied with the provisions of the Act.
“...Conduct astatine slightest a one-district survey. Do it for immoderate comparatively backward area. Find retired however galore backstage schools determination are and however galore person refused to instrumentality the Act,” the Bench said.
When Mr. Raju submitted that helium had filed an RTI exertion connected the contented past year, the Bench remarked that the regulation with RTI responses was that authorities would reply lone successful accordance with the quality of the questions posed to them.
Accordingly, the Bench issued announcement connected the plea but asked the petitioner to undertake the survey successful the meantime and spot further worldly earlier the court.
The petition seeks directions to the Centre to enactment successful spot a transparent mechanics for monitoring compliance with the Section 12 mandate successful Punjab, including publically accessible dashboards to way implementation.
Section 12(1)(c) requires backstage unaided schools to reserve astatine slightest 25% of entry-level seats for children belonging to weaker sections and disadvantaged groups and to supply them escaped and compulsory simple acquisition until its completion.
The plea besides seeks directions for putting successful spot an implementation mechanics successful Punjab to springiness effect to the provision. It calls for the work of disposable seats, a notified admittance schedule, a reimbursement model for schools, and enactment against institutions that neglect to comply with the law.
