The Delhi High Court has ruled that while the Right to Education ensures access to schooling, it does not grant a child the right to insist on admission in a specific school. The court dismissed an appeal filed by a mother seeking admission for her child in a particular private school under the EWS category.
Background of the Case
The case, Pooja (Guardian of Baby Devanshi Jaisawar) vs Aadharshila Vidyapeeth & Anr., arose from an EWS admission dispute for the academic year 2023–24.
The child was selected through a computerized draw of lots conducted by the Directorate of Education (DoE) for admission in a private school. However, the school did not grant admission, citing seat-related issues.
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The mother approached the High Court, arguing that despite valid selection and submission of documents, her child was denied admission unfairly. She sought a direction to secure admission in the same school.
During the hearing, it emerged that the DoE had already offered admission to the child in another school one of the options selected by the parent in the application form. However, the parent did not accept that seat and instead pursued litigation.
The writ petition was eventually dismissed by a Single Judge on the ground that the academic year had already ended, making it impossible to grant admission for that session.
Hearing the appeal, the Division Bench led by the Chief Justice and Justice Tejas Karia examined whether relief could be modified for the next academic year.
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The court noted that the child had been allotted an alternative school in July 2023 itself, but the offer was not accepted. The bench remarked:
“The right to education cannot be translated into a right to select a particular school.”
It further observed that once the academic year ended, and no interim protection like provisional admission or seat reservation had been granted during the proceedings, the right to claim admission in that specific school no longer survived.
The court also emphasized that allowing such claims would unfairly impact other EWS applicants in subsequent years.
The appellant relied on a Supreme Court judgment to argue that courts can grant admission even later by moulding relief.
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However, the bench rejected this argument, clarifying that the cited case applied to exceptional circumstances in medical admissions and could not be extended here.
“The facts of the present case are different… the Academic Year was over by the time the petition came up for final hearing,” the court noted.
Finding no error in the earlier judgment, the High Court held that:
- The appellant had already been offered a valid alternative school
- There was no interim order protecting the claimed seat
- The academic year had concluded
As a result, the court declined to interfere and dismissed the appeal.
Case Title:- Pooja (Guardian of Baby Devanshi Jaisawar) vs Aadharshila Vidyapeeth & Anr.
Case Number: LPA 810/2024
Judge: Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya & Justice Tejas Karia
Decision Date: 25 March 2026
