Siri Jagan, J.

Ten years before the Parliament decided to include Right to Education as a fundamental right under Part III of the Constitution of India by introducing Article 21A through the Constitution (86th Amendment) Act, 2002, the Supreme Court had considered the scope of right to education in the Indian context in the decision of Mohini Jain (Miss) v. State of Karnataka and others, reported in (1992) 3 SCC 666. In that case, the Supreme Court inter alia considered the question as to whether there is a "right to education guaranteed to the people of India under the Constitution" and held as follows in respect of that issue:

"6. In order to appreciate the first point posed by us it is necessary to refer to various provisions of the Constitution of India. The Preamble promises to secure to all citizens of India "justice, social, economic and political" and "liberty of thought, expression, belief,faith and worship". It further provides "equality of status and of opportunity" and assures dignity of the individual. Articles 21, 38, 39(a) and (f), 41 and 45 of the Constitution are reproduced hereunder:

"21. Protection of life and personal liberty:- No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law.

38. State to secure a social order for the promotion of welfare of the people:- (1) The State shall strive to promote the welfare of the people by securing and protecting as effectively as it may a social order in which justice, social, economic and political, shall inform all the institutions of the national life.

(2) The State shall, in particular, strive to minimise the inequalities in income, and endeavour to eliminate inequalities in status, facilities and opportunities, not only amongst individuals but also amongst groups of people residing in different areas or engaged in different vocations.

39. Certain principles of policy to be followed by the State: - The State shall, in particular, direct its policy towards securing--

(a) that the citizens, men and women equally, have the right to an adequate means of livelihood.

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(f) that children are given opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity and that childhood and youth are protected against exploitation and against moral and material abandonment.

41. Right to work, to education and to public assistance in certain cases:- The State shall, within the limits of its economic capacity and development, make effective provision for securing the right to work, to education and to public assistance in cases of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement, and in other areas of undeserved want.

45. Provision for free and compulsory education for children:-

The State shall endeavour to provide within a period of ten years from the commencement of this Constitution, for free and compulsory education for all children until they complete the age of fourteen years."

7. It is no doubt correct that "right to education" as such has not been guaranteed as a fundamental right under Part III of the Constitution but reading the above-quoted provisions cumulatively it becomes clear that the framers of the Constitution made it obligatory for the State to provide education for its citizens.

8. The Preamble promises to secure justice "social, economic and political' for the citizens. A peculiar feature of the Indian Constitution is that it combines social and economic right along with political and justifiable legal rights. The Preamble embodies the goal which the State has to achieve in order to establish social justice and to make the masses free in the positive sense. The securing of social justice has been specifically enjoined an object of the State under Article 38 of the Constitution. Can the objective which has been so prominently pronounced in the Preamble and Article 38 of the Constitution be achieved without providing education to the large majority of citizen who are