CHANDIGARH, June 3 — The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled that all private non-minority schools in Chandigarh — regardless of when they received land allotments — are entitled to full reimbursement for admitting 25% students under the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) quota, as mandated by the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009.
In a significant judgment, Justice Harsimran Singh Sethi also quashed the Chandigarh Administration’s decision to revoke the recognition of Saint Kabir School and Vivek High School, stating the move was unsustainable under law.
“The 1996 land allotment scheme cannot override a statutory mandate under the 2009 Act,” said Justice Sethi, addressing the core issue of whether schools granted land before the 1996 scheme are entitled to the same reimbursement for EWS admissions. “The policy was never intended to apply retrospectively.”
The Chandigarh Administration had argued that it was liable to reimburse only 10% of EWS admissions in schools covered under the 1996 land allotment scheme, invoking Clause 18 of that policy. However, the court rejected this position, calling the clause merely ancillary and applicable only to future land allottees.
“The 15% EWS quota in Clause 18 is a conditional term of land allotment and not a general framework for admissions,” the court said. “Schools allotted land before January 31, 1996, are not bound by this clause, nor can it be used to dilute their obligations under the RTE Act.”
The court also observed that there was no record of these schools violating provisions of the Capital of Punjab (Development and Regulation) Act, 1952, and that the Administration’s long-standing inaction reinforced the interpretation that the 1996 scheme was not meant to apply retrospectively. “For over a decade, no effort was made to enforce Clause 18 on these institutions. That itself speaks volumes,” the judgment noted.
Reinforcing the statutory requirement under the RTE Act, the Bench ruled that all private non-minority institutions, whether granted land before or after the 1996 scheme, must reserve 25% of entry-level seats for EWS students and are entitled to corresponding reimbursement from the government.
“All Class I and Class III private schools are required to admit children from EWS backgrounds to the extent of 25% of total seats,” Justice Sethi said, citing an undertaking submitted by the Independent Schools Association affirming compliance with the mandate.
In addition to setting the legal position, the court also laid down an administrative process: the Chandigarh Administration is responsible for identifying eligible EWS candidates and forwarding their names to the respective schools. Any school-level objections must be resolved by the Administration, whose decision shall be final. “Schools have no further say once the list is provided. Admission must be granted without delay or further correspondence,” the court directed.
The Independent Schools Association and other petitioners were represented by senior advocate Aashish Chopra, assisted by counsels Yash Pal Sharma and Swati Dayalan.
