Particle.news
Download on the App Store
20 ARTICLES
·
last mo.

Supreme Court Sends Minority Schools’ RTE Exemption to Larger Bench for Reconsideration

The bench questioned the decade-old Pramati precedent after citing exclusion of disadvantaged children alongside conflicting rulings on teacher qualifications.

Image
Image
Image
Supreme Court flags misuse of minority tag, seeks rethink on RTE exemption verdict

Overview

  • Justices Dipankar Datta and Manmohan expressed serious doubt about the 2014 Pramati ruling that took minority institutions outside the RTE Act’s ambit.
  • The court referred four constitutional questions to Chief Justice B. R. Gavai, including whether Section 12(1)(c) can be read down to cover disadvantaged children within the same minority community and the effect of not considering Article 29(2).
  • Citing NCPCR data, the bench noted only 8.76% of students in minority schools are from disadvantaged backgrounds and 62.5% are from non‑minority communities, pointing to potential misuse of minority status.
  • Using Article 142, the court set interim TET rules: teachers with under five years to retire may continue without TET but cannot be promoted unless they pass, while in‑service teachers with more than five years left must qualify within two years or exit service with due benefits.
  • The judges said Articles 21A and 30(1) can co‑exist and that the RTE framework ought to apply to minority institutions, though the Pramati exemption remains in place until a larger bench decides.