Telangana High Court: While deciding 2 writ petitions challenging proceedings issued by educational authorities directing private recognised schools to provide free education to children of journalists, Single Judge Bench of Juvvadi Sridevi, J., held that the provisions of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (RTE Act) cannot be enforced against minority educational institutions protected under Article 30(1) of the Constitution. The Court further held that educational authorities cannot impose such obligations through administrative instructions issued without statutory authority, particularly without affording the affected institutions an opportunity of hearing, and accordingly set aside the impugned proceedings.
The petitioners, Brothers of St. Gabriel Educational Society and educational institutions administered by it, challenged proceedings issued by the District Educational Officers and other educational authorities directing all private recognised educational institutions to provide free education to children of journalists purportedly under the provisions of the RTE Act.
The principal issue before the Court was whether educational authorities could compel minority educational institutions to provide free education to children of journalists by invoking the provisions of the RTE Act.
The Court observed that there was no dispute regarding the petitioners’ status as minority educational institutions protected under Article 30(1) of the Constitution. Referring to the decisions of the Supreme Court in Society for Unaided Private Schools of Rajasthan v. Union of India, (2012) 6 SCC 1 and the Constitution Bench judgment in Pramati Educational and Cultural Trust v. Union of India, (2014) 8 SCC 1, the Court noted that it stood conclusively settled that the RTE Act, insofar as it applied to minority educational institutions, whether aided or unaided, was unconstitutional.
The Court held that compelling minority educational institutions to comply with the RTE Act would directly interfere with their constitutional right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice under Article 30(1). Consequently, the respondents could not invoke the provisions of the Act against the petitioners.
The Court further found that no provision of the RTE Act or the rules empowered the respondents to direct private recognised schools, much less minority educational institutions, to provide free education to all children of journalists. The respondents themselves admitted that the impugned proceedings had been issued solely on the basis of requests made by journalists’ associations. Administrative instructions issued merely in response to such representations, the Court observed, could neither override constitutional guarantees nor impose obligations unsupported by statutory authority.
The Court also accepted the petitioners’ contention that the impugned proceedings had been issued without affording any opportunity of hearing despite imposing significant financial and administrative consequences upon the institutions. Such action, the Court held, violated the principles of natural justice and rendered the proceedings arbitrary and legally unsustainable.
Holding that the impugned directions were contrary to binding Supreme Court precedent, without authority of law, and violative of Article 30(1) of the Constitution, the Court concluded that they were liable to be quashed.
Accordingly, the Court allowed both writ petitions and set aside the proceedings dated 16 July 2014, 30 July 2014 and 11 September 2014.
[Brothers of St. Gabriel Educational Society v. State of Telangana, W.P. No. 5035 & 13240 of 2015, decided on 24-6-2026]
Advocates who appeared in this case:
For the Petitioners: Ch. Samson Babu, Advocate.
For the Respondents: Government Pleader for School Education.
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