Allahabad High Court
Radhika Yadav Minor vs Union Of India And 2 Others on 18 August, 2023
Bench: Kshitij Shailendra
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
Neutral Citation No. - 2023:AHC:166601
Court No. - 10
Case :- WRIT - C No. - 17620 of 2023
Petitioner :- Radhika Yadav Minor
Respondent :- Union Of India And 2 Others
Counsel for Petitioner :- Ajay Vikram Yadav
Counsel for Respondent :- A.S.G.I.,Bharat Pratap Singh
Hon'ble Kshitij Shailendra,J.
1. Heard Sri Jitendra Kumar, holding brief of Sri Ajay Vikram Yadav, learned counsel for the petitioner, Sri Gyanu Shukla, holding brief of Sri Manoj Kumar Singh, learned counsel for the respondent no.1- Union of India and Sri Uma Dutta Shukla, holding brief of Sri Narendra Pratap Singh, learned counsel for the respondents no.2 and 3.
2. The petitioner applied for admission in Class-I in Kendriya Vidyalaya, Airforce Station, Manauri, Allahabad and the case of the petitioner is that her name was included in the First R.T.E. Provisional Admission List published on 20.04.2023.
3. The grievance is that, later on, the admission has been denied to her on the ground that the petitioner's residence is located beyond the radius of 5 km from the institution and therefore, as per the norms, she cannot be allowed admission.
4. Although no such order has been annexed along with the writ petition, however, when this Court by previous order asked the respondents no.2 and 3 to furnish instructions as to why admission has been denied to the petitioner, a counter affidavit has been filed placing reliance upon a judgment of the Madhya Pradesh High Court dated 22.02.2021 passed in Writ Petition No.12712 of 2020.
5. Apart from placing reliance upon the said judgment, learned counsel for the respondents no.2 and 3 has referred to procedure for admission and concerned guidelines and has drawn attention of the Court towards Clause 4-C of the same, which reads as follows:-
"C. DEFINITION OF NEIGHBOURHOOD & PROOF OF RESIDENCE (APPLICABLE FOR ADMISSION UNDER RTE ONLY)
Since Kendriya Vidyayalas are located at places with varied density of population, they have been categorized as follows for determining the limits of neighbourhood:
1.
Major cities and Urban area (All District (Hqrs. & Metros)
5 kms. Radius
2.
Places and areas other than included in 1 above
8 kms Radius
Note:-2
1. Proof of residence shall have to be produced by all applicants.
2. A self-declaration in writing from the parent about distance may also be accepted to this effect, subject to verification."
6. It is therefore contended that the respondent cannot permit admission contrary to the guidelines and norms and once, admittedly, the petitioner's residence is situated beyond 5 km and the case falls in the category described at Sl. No.1 of Clause-C, the denial to the admission is according to law.
7. Learned counsel for the respondents further submits that as of now session is over.
8. Learned counsel for the petitioner does not dispute the applicability of the aforesaid norms and he submits that if the admission has been denied only on the ground of distance of her residence, she would somehow manage her residence within the aforesaid radius of 5 km.
9. The Court finds that identical arguments were raised before the Madhya Pradesh High Court and the respondents therein tried to differentiate in between permanent address and temporary/present address of the students in connection with "neighbourhood school". The said distinction was held to be arbitrary and the writ petition was disposed of by observing that the guidelines do not make out any distinction between permanent or local address and permitted the petitioner to seek admission in the school from Class-II onwards by showing her residence to be within 5 km from the institution which address could be verified by the school. Necessary directions were also issued on the same lines.
10. The facts of the present case are almost identical to the facts which were considered by the Madhya Pradesh High Court in the aforesaid case and considering Article 261 of the Constitution of India, this Court is disposing of the present writ petition on the same lines on which Madhya Pradesh High Court has decided the case as there is no contrary decision before this Court to take a different view of the matter.
11. The writ petition is, accordingly, disposed of permitting the petitioner to apply for admission in Class-II in the next session after satisfying the respondent authorities that her residence (permanent/temporary/local) falls within 5 km radius of the institution.
Order Date :- 18.8.2023
AKShukla/-
