Court Takes Suo Motu Cognizance to Expedite Verification of Pending Applications Under Right to Education Act
In a significant development, the Chhattisgarh High Court has taken suo motu cognizance of a news report highlighting considerable delays in the verification process of admission applications under the Right to Education (RTE) Act. The report, published in Haribhumi Bilaspur Bhumi, pointed out that over 16,000 applications remain unverified out of a total of 38,438 received for Class 1 admissions in the state.
The court, despite it being a non-working day, convened an urgent hearing to address this pressing issue. The bench, comprising Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal, expressed grave concern over the slow progress, which has caused significant inconvenience to parents and disrupted the school allotment process scheduled for mid-April.
The Directorate of Public Instruction (DPI) had initially set a timeline from February 16 to March 31 for registration and nodal verification. However, it has been reported that the slow pace of verification at the nodal principal level has led to incomplete processing, particularly in several districts where less than 10% of applications have been verified.
In response, the court has directed the Joint Secretary of the School Education Department to file a detailed affidavit outlining the steps taken to address these delays. The affidavit is expected to cover measures implemented since the news report's publication and strategies to ensure timely completion of the verification process.
The matter is scheduled for further hearing on April 8, 2026. The court's intervention underlines its commitment to ensuring the effective implementation of the RTE Act and safeguarding the educational rights of children in Chhattisgarh.
Bottom Line:
Right to Education Act - Suo motu cognizance taken by the Court regarding slow verification of admission applications for Class 1 under the RTE Act, causing delays in the admission process and inconvenience to parents. The Court directed the Joint Secretary, School Education Department, to file an affidavit detailing the steps taken to address the issue.
Statutory provision(s): Right to Education Act, 2009
C. V. Bhagvant Rao v. Union of India, (Chhattisgarh)(DB) : Law Finder Doc id # 2878076
