Delhi HC asks state government's stand on plea for admission of EWS category children

Delhi High Court is seeking the Delhi government 's stand on a PIL filed for the admission of students from EWS category.

The Delhi High Court on Monday demanded a "concise and crisp" statement from the Delhi government in response to a plea seeking admission of over 44,000 students from the poorer sections and disadvantaged groups to various private schools in the city.

A notice was issued by a bench headed by Justices Rajiv Shakdher and Talwant Singh on public interest litigation which was filed NGO, 'Justice For All'.

The notice sought a reply from the Delhi government counsel Santosh Kumar Tripathi.

As the court went on to list the case for further hearing on April 26, it said, "File a concise and crisp reply (on) what is your understanding of Right to Education Act, the position of number of seats in the previous year, applications made and number of admissions."

The petition, which was filed through advocates Khagesh B Jha and Shikha Sharma, alleged that the government's inaction in performing their duty resulted in a blatant violation of the fundamental rights of thousands of children who have been waiting for admission since April 2021.

The petition added that only 21,000 children have been admitted despite there being a total of 77,000 seats for children belonging to the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) including 53,000 seats from the current year and 24,000 seats that have to be carried forward from the last academic session.

The petition further alleged that the process was delayed by the Director of Education on their own and are now refusing the admission on the basis of a delay in admission, the responsibility for which is of the appropriate government.