JUDGMENT

(Prayer: Writ Petition is filed under Article 226 of Constitution of India, to issue a Writ of Declaration, to declare the maximum age limit prescribed by the Respondents in paragraph – 4 of their Guidelines for Admission in Kendriya Vidyalayas (2022-2023 & Onwards) for class 8th as 14 years is arbitrary, and contrary to the spirit of the Right to Education Act, and against the Article 21 A of the Constitution of India.)

1. Shreya Bhattacharya is the daughter of a non-commissioned Air Force officer, who seeks a seat in Class VIII in the Kendriya Vidyalaya, the second respondent school, located at the Air Force Campus, Tambaram. Her entry into the Kendriya Vidyalaya is resisted on the ground that she should have been between 12 and 14 years old on the relevant cut-off date as prescribed in the Guidelines, but the petitioner was aged 14 years and 2 months and was, therefore, ineligible. Shreya is now prosecuting her studies in Army Public School, which is about 30 km. from the Air Force Campus. It is in these circumstances, the petitioner now challenges the Guidelines of Kendriya Vidyalaya, principally on the ground that it violates Article 21A of the Constitution and Sec. 3 o