In a significant step aimed at safeguarding the educational rights of orphaned children, the Supreme Court has directed all States and Union Territories to conduct a comprehensive survey to determine whether orphans are receiving the benefits guaranteed under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009.
The direction came in a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Poulomi Pavini Shukla, who appeared in person, raising concerns over the neglect of orphaned children in access to education. Shukla cited data from UNICEF suggesting that India has nearly 25 million orphaned children, the highest in the world, yet lacks any formal government data on them. She emphasized the need to include orphan children as a clearly defined category under Section 12(1)(c) of the RTE Act, which mandates a 25% reservation in private unaided and special category schools for children belonging to disadvantaged groups and weaker sections.
While acknowledging that several states such as Delhi, Meghalaya, Odisha, Jharkhand, Sikkim, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, and Gujarat have already issued notifications to include orphaned children within this 25% quota, the Court urged other States and UTs to take similar steps. The Bench, comprising Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice K.V. Viswanathan, observed that under the RTE Act and Article 21A of the Constitution, every child aged 6 to 14 has a fundamental right to education, and in the absence of parents, the State assumes the role of parens patriae.
The Court stressed that the phrase "such other factor" in Section 2(d) of the RTE Act must be interpreted to include orphans as disadvantaged children. It noted that due to the absence of clear categorization, many orphaned children are often excluded from the statutory right to education, despite technically qualifying.
Accordingly, the Court directed all States and Union Territories to file affidavits within four weeks providing detailed information regarding the status of orphaned children under the RTE Act. The affidavits must indicate the number of orphaned children who have already been granted admission under the provisions of the Act.
Additionally, the States must specify how many orphaned children have been denied admission and the reasons for such denial. The Court also asked for information on the measures undertaken to facilitate the admission of orphans in neighbourhood schools as required by law.
Furthermore, the Court sought clarity on whether any official notifications have been issued to include orphaned children under Section 12(1)(c) of the RTE Act. In cases where no such notification has been issued, the States and UTs are expected to explain the reasons for non-compliance in their affidavits.
The Bench made it clear that while data is being collected, simultaneous efforts must be made to ensure that orphaned children are not left out of the educational system due to lack of guardianship or formal recognition.
At the end of the hearing, Shukla requested that orphan children also be formally counted in the national census. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who was present in court on another matter, supported the suggestion and assured the Court that he would seek instructions regarding the inclusion of orphans in the census data.
The matter has been listed for further hearing on September 9.
Picture Source :
