The fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 29(2), 30(1), and 337 of the Constitution of India protect the right of citizens to be admitted to educational institutions without discrimination based on religion, race, caste, or language, and the right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.

Headnote:
Anglo-Indian School Admission - Right of Anglo-Indian School to Admit Non-Anglo-Indian Students - Right of Non-Anglo-Indian Students to be Admitted to Anglo-Indian School - Constitutional Validity of Government Circular Prohibiting Admission of Non-Anglo-Indians to Anglo-Indian Schools - Interpretation of Articles 29(2), 30(1), 337, 19(1)(a), 14, and 15 of the Constitution of India.
Fact of the Case:

The Barnes School, an Anglo-Indian school receiving government aid, admitted non-Anglo-Indian students, constituting 63% of its student body. The Government of Bombay issued a circular prohibiting the admission of non-Anglo-Indian students to Anglo-Indian schools, citing the need to promote the use of Indian languages as the medium of instruction. The circular also suggested that Anglo-Indian schools could open divisions using Hindi or other Indian languages as the medium of instruction to facilitate the admission of non-Anglo-Indian students. The school and two non-Anglo-Indian parents, Major Pinto and Dr. Gujar, challenged the circular, arguing that it violated their fundamental rights under Articles 29(2), 30(1), 337, 19(1)(a), 14, and 15 of the Constitution.
Finding of the Court:

The court held that the government circular prohibiting the admission of non-Anglo-Indian students to Anglo-Indian schools was unconstitutional and violated the fundamental rights of the petitioners under Articles 29(2) and 337 of the Constitution.
Issues: 1. Whether the government circular prohibiting the admission of non-Anglo-Indian students to Anglo-Indian schools violated the fundamental rights of the petitioners under Articles 29(2), 30(1), 337, 19(1)(a), 14, and 15 of the Constitution? 2. Whether the Anglo-Indian school had the right to admit non-Anglo-Indian students? 3. Whether non-Anglo-Indian students had the right to be admitted to Anglo-Indian schools?
Ratio Decidendi: 1. Article 29(2) of the Constitution guarantees the right of citizens to be admitted to any educational institution maintained by the State or receiving aid out of State funds on grounds only of religion, race, caste, language, or any of them. 2. The government circular violated Article 29(2) by prohibiting the admission of non-Anglo-Indian students to Anglo-Indian schools solely on the ground that they were not Anglo-Indians. 3. Article 30(1) of the Constitution guarantees the right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. 4. The government circular violated Article 30(1) by compelling Anglo-Indian schools to admit only Anglo-Indian students, thereby restricting their choice in administering their educational institutions. 5. Article 337 of the Constitution provides for special grants to Anglo-Indian educational institutions, subject to the condition that at least 40% of the annual admissions are made available to members of communities other than the Anglo-Indian community. 6. The government circular violated Article 337 by prohibiting Anglo-Indian schools from admitting non-Anglo-Indian students, thereby preventing them from complying with the condition for receiving the special grants.
Final Decision: The court issued a writ against the State of Bombay, preventing it from enforcing the circular prohibiting the admission of non-Anglo-Indian students to Anglo-Indian schools. The court also directed the Barnes School to admit the children of Major Pinto and Dr. Gujar, the non-Anglo-Indian parents who had been denied admission for their children.

JUDGMENT - Chagla, C.J.

1. These three petitions raise very important questions, first, as to the right of an Anelo-Indian school to admit non-Anglo-Indian students, and second, the right of non-Anglo-Indian students to be admitted to an Anglo-Indian school. The school with which we are concerned is the Barnes School which was founded in 1925. In December 1953 it had on its roll 415 students of whom 203 were non-Anglo-Indians and 212 were Anglo-Indians. It appears that in the whole State of Bombay there are 30 Anglo-Indian schools and the percentage of non-Anglo-Indian students studying in these schools Is 63 per cent, and the percentage of Anglo-Indian students studying in these schoolsis 37 per cent.

It may also be mentioned that in the whole State of Bombay there are in all 1403 schools out of which 1285 teach through mediums other than English and 118 teach through the medium of English, As far as this school is concerned it has got 17 teachers of whom only one teacher is in a position to teach through the medium of Hindi and he takes up Hindi classes and teaches the students Hindi. On 6-1-1954, the Government of Bombay issued an order which is challenged in these petitions.

The circular points out that Government has been considering the question of the medium of instruction at primary and secondary stages of education, and it has been constantly the desire of Government to further the cause of education by making it possible for all students to study through the medium of their mother tongue. The circular also points out that the whole position was reviewed in 1951 and a general policy was laid down that admission to schools which teach through the medium of English should be restricted to certain categories of children, and the four categories are set out in this circular, and the important category to bear in mind is the category of children whose mother tongue was certified by the parent or guardian to be English.

The other categories do not directly arise for consideration in this petition. They deal with students who were previously studying with English as the medium of instruction or who had no facilities for receiving instruction in their mother tongue or whose parents or guardians were liable to inter-State or inter-regional transfer. The circular also points out the recommendations for Secondary Education Commission recently appointed and the recommendation on which emphasis is laid by the circular is that the mother tongue or regional language should generally be the medium of instruction throughout the secondary stage. Having emphasised the historical background, in CI. (4) of the circular it is stated that

"The Government therefore feels that the stage has now been reached for the discontinuance of English as the medium of instruction in primary and secondary schools. Government has therefore decided that subject to the facilities to be given to linguistic minorities, all special and interim concessions in respect of admission to schools using English as the medium of instruction should hereafter be withdrawn."

2. Clause 5 is to the following effect:

"Government has accordingly decided as follows: subject to the exceptions hereinafter provided no primary or secondary school shall from the date of these orders admit to a class where English is used as a medium of instruction any pupil other than a pupil belonging to a section of citizens the language of which is English, namely, Anglo-Indians and citizens of non-Asiatic descent."

Then three exceptions are set out with which we are not concerned. Then we come to CI. (7):

"All schools (including Anglo-Indian Schools) using English as a medium of instruction should regulate admissions according to this circular. With a view to facilitating the admission of pupils who under these orders are not intended to be educated through the medium of English, these schools are advised to open progressively divisions of standards using Hindi or an Indian language as the medium of

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