IMPORTANT POINT
Providing basic infrastructure and qualified teachers in schools.

JUDGMENT

K. S. Radhakrishnan, J.-This Court’s jurisdiction under Article 32 of the Constitution of India has been invoked by the petitioner, a registered charitable society, seeking various directions to improve the conditions of Government and aided schools and also school run by the local authorities so that the constitutional objective of providing free and compulsory education under Article 21A of the Constitution of India would be a reality.

2. The Writ Petition was filed in the year 2004 and since then, several interim orders have been passed giving directions to the States and the Union Territories to provide the basic infrastructure facilities like toilet facility, drinking water, class rooms, appointment of teachers and all other facilities so that children can study in a clean and healthy environment. While the matter was pending before this Court, the Parliament enacted the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (in short ‘the RTE Act’). The constitutional validity of the RTE Act was challenged before this Court and this Court, vide its Judgment dated 12.4.2012 in Society for Unaided Private Schools of Rajasthan v. Union of India and Another (2012)6 SCC 1, upheld its validity and gave various directions, some of which are as follows:

(a) In exercise of the powers conferred upon the appropriate Government under Section 38 of the RTE Act, the Government shall frame rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act and in particular, the matters stated under sub-Section (2) of Section 38 of the RTE Act.

(b) The directions, guidelines and rules shall be framed by the Central Government, appropriate Government and/or such other competent authority under the provisions of the RTE Act, as expeditiously as possible and, in any case, not later than six months from the date of pronouncement of this judgment.

(c) All the State Governments which have not constituted the State Advisory Council in terms of Section 34 of the RTE Act shall so constitute the Council within three months from today. The Council so constituted shall undertake its requisite functions in accordance with the provisions of Section 34 of the Act and advise the Government in terms of clauses (6), (7) and (8) of this order immediately thereafter.

(d) Central Government and State Governments may set up a proper Regulatory Authority for supervision and effective functioning of the Act and its implementation.

3. This Court, therefore, directed the Central Government, appropriate Government and other competent authorities functioning under the RTE Act to issue proper directions/guidelines for its full implementation within a period of six months from the date of the pronouncement of that judgment. This Court also directed all the State Governments to constitute State Advisory Council within three months from the date of that judgment. Advisory Councils so constituted were directed to discharge their functions in accordance with the provision of Section 34 of the RTE Act and advise the Government in terms of Clauses (6), (7) and (8) of this Court’s order. The necessity of constituting a proper Regulatory Authority for effective functioning of the RTE Act and its implementation was also highlighted. The Central Government was also directed to frame rules, in exercise of its powers under Section 38 of the RTE Act, for proper implementation of the RTE Act.

4. On the basis of directions issued by this Court in this Writ Petition, some of the States have responded by furnishing the details of infrastructure facilities available in the schools situated in their respective States. This Court noticed that some of the schools have not provided proper toilet facilities for boys and girls and in some of the schools, it was noticed, that there is no provision for drinking water as well. Detailed interim orders were passed by this Court on 29.4.2011 and 22.9.2011. On 18.10.2011, this Court passed the following order:

“We have heard the learned counsel fo