Digitally signed KABORAMBA by KABORAMBAM M SANDEEP SANDEEP SINGH SINGH Date: 2026.01.22

13:06:25 +05'30'

Sl. No. 14 IN THE HIGH COURT OF MANIPUR AT IMPHAL PIL No. 23 of 2025 Soram Tekendrajit; & Anr.

Petitioners Vs.

State of Manipur; & Ors.

Respondents BEFORE HON’BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MR. M. SUNDAR HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AHANTHEM BIMOL SINGH (ORDER)

(Order of the Court was made by M. Sundar, CJ)

21.01.2026 [1] ‘Saiton No. 2 Primary School, Bishnupur’ (hereinafter ‘said School’ for the sake of convenience and clarity) is a Government School and it is a Primary School. To be noted, Primary School is one where classes are held up to Class-V.

[2] In the captioned writ petition which has been filed as a ‘Public Interest Litigation’ (‘PIL’ for the sake of brevity) Mr. Kh. Tarunkumar, learned senior counsel instructed by Mr. W. Jamon, learned counsel on record for the two public spirited petitioners and Mr. S. Nepolean, learned senior counsel and State counsel instructed by Ms. RK Emily, learned State counsel for all three respondents are before us.

[3] At the outset, it is deemed appropriate to record the stated position on learned senior counsel on both sides that the captioned matter shall not be treated as adversarial litigation and that the same shall be construed and as a constructive collaborative effort as it pertains to said school, amenities thereat and constitutional right enshrined in Article 21A of the Constitution.

[4] Be that as it may, learned senior counsel appearing on behalf of counsel on record for PIL petitioners, submits that the geographical location of said school is in a difficult terrain, about 118 students have enrolled and about 40 of them are attending the school regularly but the issue is lack of infrastructure, i.e., basic infrastructure such as class rooms and more importantly teachers which is far below the desired student-teacher ratio codified vide the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 and 2010 Rules thereunder. [5] Learned senior counsel also pointed out that a detailed representation (though in the form of notice through counsel) dated 23.08.2025 has been sent to R-2 and the same has been duly received by R-2 on 25.08.2025. To be noted, ‘R-2’ is an abbreviation denoting ‘2^nd respondent’ and similar abbreviations for other respondents will also be used. A scanned reproduction of this 23.08.2025 representation is as follows:

[6] Mr. S. Nepolean, learned senior counsel, adverting to the ‘aforesaid representation’ (hereinafter, ‘said representation’ for the sake of convenience) submits that post representation, the issues raised thereat are being addressed by the State, one teacher has been transferred to said school and one construction has been made with the help of personal money of a good Samaritan officer and further steps are underway.

[7] Mr. Kh. Tarunkumar, learned senior counsel very fairly submitted that the afore-referred position is correct but much remains to be done.

[8] In the light of the narrative thus far, we deem it appropriate to direct R-1 {Commissioner (Education-School) Government of Manipur} to bestow his attention qua said representation, make a detailed report addressing the issues raised thereat capturing the steps taken thus far, the steps underway, steps contemplated with time frames for steps underway and contemplated (time frames with specificity)

[9] Disposal of said representation in the aforesaid manner shall be by way of a report drawn up by R-1 {Commissioner (Education- School) Government of Manipur} and this report shall be served on each of the PIL petitioners under due acknowledgment within a fortnight from today, i.e., on or before 04.02.2026.

[10] PIL petitioners can work in coordination with respondents if need arises for steps underway and contemplated steps and if the progress is either unsatisfactory or even if the contents of the report are not satisfactory, it is open to the PIL petitioners to assail the same (though not ‘assail’ in the advers