SAMPATRAO RAMRAO TELI Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India has been filed by the petitioner seeking issuance of appropriate writ, order or direction against the respondents. The petitioner primarily prays for a direction to respondent No.2 to accept the admission form of the petitioner's son under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (hereinafter referred to as "the RTE Act ") under the 25% reservation quota meant for children belonging to economically weaker Sec. and disadvantaged groups. The petitioner has further prayed for a direction to respondent No.3 to grant necessary sanction/ approval so as to extend the benefit of the RTE 25% reservation scheme and the consequential educational benefits to the petitioner's son.

(2.) The factual matrix of the present petition, as emerges from the pleadings and documents placed on record, is that respondent No.2 had invited online applications under the RTE 25% reservation scheme for the academic year 2025-2026 for admission to First Standard in recognized private schools. The petitioner applied through the online admission portal seeking admission for his son in First Standard under the said scheme. While filling the online form, a specific question was posed in the application portal as to whether the student had earlier been selected in any lottery process under the RTE admission scheme. The petitioner answered the said question in the affirmative and furnished an undertaking that he would comply with all the conditions prescribed under the scheme.

(3.) It is the case of the petitioner that respondent No.3 issued a provisional admit card on 14/2/2025 in favour of the petitioner's son directing the petitioner to get the necessary documents verified from the Scrutiny Committee and thereafter approach Jawaharlal Nehru English School, Purna, for admission. It was also mentioned in the provisional admit card that if the petitioner failed to complete the admission process within the stipulated period, the provisional allotment would stand cancelled. According to the petitioner, upon receiving the provisional admit card he withdrew the admission of his son from the existing school, namely Little English School, Purna, and requested the school authorities to remove his son's name from the online portal. After obtaining the transfer certificate from the said school, the petitioner approached the Scrutiny Committee and completed the document verification process.