JUDGMENT

VIKAS MAHAJAN, J

1. The present petition has been filed seeking following relief:

i) issue any appropriate writ, order or direction, directing the respondent GD Goenka Public School to forthwith readmit and allow petitioner, namely, Aadriti Pathak in class 1 or any of the age appropriate class in terms of Section 31 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016;

or in alternative:

ii) issue any appropriate writ, order or direction, directing the respondent GD Goenka Public School to forthwith readmit and allow petitioner, namely, Aadriti Pathak in class 1 or any of the age appropriate class as fees paying student;

iii) issue any appropriate writ, order or direction, directing the respondent Government of NCT of Delhi to take action against respondent school for creating a hostile and unsupportive environment for petitioner to study;

iv) pass any other order or direction or such further orders as may be deemed just and appropriate, in the facts and circumstances of the case and also in the interest of justice, in favour of the petitioner; and

v) allow the present writ petition with costs, in favour of the petitioner.

2. The case set out in the petition is that the petitioner was born as a normal child on 08.05.2017, with passage of time petitioner experienced delayed milestone in sitting, walking and speech. In November 2019, Dr. Richa Kapoor suspected petitioner to be suffering from Autism and her therapy was started thereafter, but the same was interrupted by Covid-19. The petitioner was admitted to the respondent no.1 school [hereafter the ‘school’] in Academic Session 2021-22 under the “Sibling Clause”. The parents of the petitioner at the time of admission mentioned the fact of speech delay in the school forms as alleged by the mother of the petitioner.

3. In December 2021, the petitioner was diagnosed with mild autism at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, New Delhi, whereafter she was recommended various therapies.

4. Due to onset of Covid-19, classes were conducted online, which were attended by the petitioner, and offline classes resumed in April 2022 when the petitioner’s parents submitted diagnosis and assessment reports of the petitioner to the respondent no.1 school administration.

5. In the petition some incidents have been narrated setting out that school administration had shared its concern about petitioner’s behaviour with the parents. Petitioner’s mother is stated to have met Principal of the school several times requesting support in the form of a shadow teacher or allowing Special Educator to assist her in the class room, which did not fetch any response. At this stage reference to the mails exchanged between the petitioner’s mother and Principal of the school would be apposite.

5.1 Vide mail dated 12.12.2022, Principal of the school had flagged behavioural issues of petitioner in the following terms:

Dear Parent

Today you had sent Aadriti to school. As per our last meeting in school we had informed you the problems that we are facing in having Aadriti in the school set up. It was agreed that you would work on the child so that other students, teachers and she herself does not get any harm.

This meeting was scheduled after we received complaints from Parents of students and the teachers whom she had been recurrently hitting and sometimes biting. During the meeting it was made clear to you that upto a certain level that child with special needs can be looked after in school, and beyond that it becomes a limitation and problem for other students.

It was thus agreed by you that you would look into the matter and will only send her to school after discussing the improvement.

Today in school again she cried very loudly, lying on the floor and running to different corners. It is a matter of concern. She could not be controlled and then you were called to take her back as her own safety too becomes our concern.

Please note that we need to be clear on her developmental graph in terms of improvement. And