The Supreme Court has directed a plea seeking the inclusion of minority educational institutions under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act to be placed before the Chief Justice of India for further orders.

A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih observed that a similar issue is already pending before the apex court and warranted careful consideration. The petition, filed by Nitin Upadhyay through advocate Ashwani Kumar Dubey, seeks a writ declaring that schools providing both religious and secular education should fall under the RTE Act’s provisions.

The plea also challenges the validity of sections 1(4) and 1(5) of the Act, labeling them arbitrary and inconsistent with constitutional mandates, including Article 14, which guarantees equality before the law. It further highlighted discrepancies in the application of the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET), which ensures teacher quality in non-minority schools but is not enforced in minority institutions.

“Petitioner is filing PIL under Article 32 seeking a direction that RTE Act and Teacher Eligibility Test be uniformly applicable to all schools,” the plea stated.

The apex court had earlier, on September 1, expressed doubts over its 2014 judgment in Pramati Educational and Cultural Trust, which had exempted minority institutions from the RTE Act. The court had noted that this exemption “might have unknowingly jeopardised the very foundation of universal elementary education,” weakening the vision of inclusivity and universality enshrined in Article 21A.

Article 21A guarantees free and compulsory education to all children aged six to fourteen and entitles them to essential facilities such as trained teachers, textbooks, uniforms, and mid-day meals. Exempting minority schools from these obligations, the court said, undermines these entitlements.

The top court had framed key questions, including whether the 2014 verdict exempting minority institutions—whether aided or unaided—under Article 30 of the Constitution requires reconsideration. Article 30 protects the right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions.

The Supreme Court urged the CJI to evaluate whether the issues raised justify a reference to a larger bench for comprehensive adjudication, signaling a potential re-examination of the balance between minority rights and universal education mandates.