The court also quashed and set aside circulars or communications issued by the government on March 6 and April 3 to implement its February 9 notification. Prior to the notification,

The HC noted that the admissions made by private unaided schools prior to May 6 stay order for students belonging to economically weaker and disadvantaged sections shall not be disturbed and “in any circumstance, 25 % of total strength of class 1 of private unaided schools shall be filled in as per RTE Act.” It added that if required, the total seats would be increased by such schools by submitting necessary information and details to the concerned authority of the education department.

The court on May 6 had stayed the implementation of the notification until further orders of the government.

The students admitted under 25 per cent RTE quota are given fee concessions, and the state government later reimburses the fees to private unaided schools.

A division bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar passed a judgement in a plea filed by members of management of aided schools and parents from socio-economically backward classes among others.

Maintaining that the matter contained “overwhelming public interest,” the HC had held that the impugned amendments contravened the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, also known as the RTE Act.

The court had also continued an interim order in which the state government had submitted that till the next date of hearing, no students will be allotted to the schools under RTE. Before Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Kerala had diluted private schools’ obligations under the RTE Act.

Appearing for the petitioners, senior advocate Gayatri Singh had argued that the February 9 notification be stayed as it was contrary to the RTE Act that provides quota at municipal schools, aided schools and private unaided schools.

A public interest litigation by NGO Vidhayak Bharati and one Santosh Shinde had also challenged the circulars or communications issued by the government on March 6 and April 3 to implement its February 9 notification. The petitioner had claimed that the impugned circulars required aided government schools to register as being available for 25 per cent reservation even though they were not eligible to give such admissions as they already provide free primary education.

Additional Government Pleader (AGP) Jyoti Chavan for the state government, however, had submitted that the petitioners’ apprehension was not appropriate.

She had said that the March 6 circular, in light of May 6 interim order of the High Court shall be construed only to mean that 25 per cent reservation for the children from economically weaker and disadvantaged sections of society shall be confined to self-financed schools, police welfare (unaided) schools and self-financed schools run by municipal corporations. The same will not apply to any other category of school mentioned in March 6 circular, she had added.

This year, over 2.5 lakh applications were received for admission to close to one lakh seats available under RTE in schools across Maharashtra. However, several parents had complained that they were in a fix due to the pending litigation as their children remain without school admission despite the new academic year having begun.

On June 18, the HC had said it will conduct the final hearing in the matter in the first half of July as it wanted to decide it as soon as possible “as students cannot be kept in limbo” considering “the urgency” in the matter. The court concluded the hearing and reserved its verdict on July 11, which it passed on Friday.