J U D G M E N T

Index to the Judgment FACTUAL BACKDROP .......................................................................... 7 SUBMISSIONS BEFORE THIS COURT .............................................. 9 Submissions on behalf of Petitioners ................................................................... 9 Submissions on behalf of DoE ........................................................................... 12 Submissions on behalf of School ....................................................................... 12 ISSUES BEFORE THIS COURT .......................................................... 13 ANALYSIS & FINDINGS ...................................................................... 15 Education: The Greatest Wealth and Its Constitutional Protection .............. 15 Grievance of the Petitioners ................................................................................ 17 Beginning Point of Controversy ............................................................................... 19 Contradictory stands taken by DoE before NCPCR and before this Court ....................................................................................................................... 23 Merger of School IDs: Ensuring Continuity of Education for EWS/DG Students Across Junior and Senior Wings of the Same Schools run by the Same Educational Society .................................................................................... 25 Equal educational opportunities should also ensure Adequate educational opportunities. ......................................................................................................... 27 Lack of any rationale for assigning different School IDs to Junior and Senior Wings of the same School ....................................................................................... 29 Directions .............................................................................................................. 31 Ensuring Respectful and Accessible Admissions: Addressing Barriers Faced by EWS/DG Students and Their Parents in the Admission Process.................................................................................................................... 33 CONCLUSION ...................................................................................... 37 Regularisation of Provisional Admissions Granted in these Cases ................ 39 There are no poor or rich aspirations ................................................................ 40 SWARANA KANTA SHARMA, J.

1. The present case involves eight petitions, brought forward by ten petitioners, all of whom are united by a common experience and a shared goal. Their common experience lies in the difficulties they have encountered due to technical issues while seeking admission under the Economically Weaker Section/Disadvantaged Group [„EWS/DG‟] category — a right to which they are entitled under the Right to Education Act. Their shared goal is to secure quality education and ensure equal treatment by private unaided schools.

2. The present judgment seeks to address these issues and lay down the much-needed guidelines towards achieving equitable educational attainment goals and try to alleviate the challenges faced by both the schools, and the students belonging to the EWS/DG category, thereby promoting a more just and accessible educational environment.

3. This judgment is focused not only on law or access of children to educational opportunities alone, but also on the intertwined critical issue of the dignity of children irrespective of them being rich, middle class or poor.

4. These writ petitions have been filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India on behalf of children belonging to the EWS/DG category who have been denied admission in respondent School i.e. Holy Innocents Public School (Senior Wing). The refusal is based on the premise that the Junior Wing and Senior Wing of the School are distinct entities, and that the allot