Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009

The appellants, who had passed the Jharkhand Teacher Eligibility Test (JTET) under the 2022 Recruitment Rules, challenged a High Court order that allowed candidates who cleared the Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) or neighbouring states' Teacher Eligibility Tests (STET) to participate in the ongoing recruitment …

The case concerned whether an 18‑month Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed.) delivered by the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) through open and distance learning (ODL) could be treated as equivalent to the 2‑year D.El.Ed. required by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) for appointment as A…

The petitioners, teachers with B.Ed. (Special) and D.Ed. (Special) qualifications, sought a mandamus directing the Union and State governments to appoint regular special teachers for children with special needs (CwSN) in accordance with a 1:5 pupil‑teacher ratio. The Court examined the interplay of the Right of Childre…

The Supreme Court examined the Uttar Pradesh government's scheme of appointing 1.78 lakh "Shiksha Mitras" on a contractual basis and later attempting to regularise them as Assistant Teachers without meeting the statutory qualifications prescribed under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (R…

The Supreme Court examined appeals filed by Ram Kumar Patel and others against the State of Uttar Pradesh challenging the High Court's order that quashed the Uttar Pradesh Basic Education (Teachers) Service (161st Amendment) Rules, 2012 on the ground of repugnancy with the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) …

The petitioners challenged the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) notification dated 29 July 2011 which made a 50% graduation mark mandatory for appointment of teachers, alleging arbitrariness and violation of Article 14 of the Constitution. They argued that earlier NCTE notification dated 23 August 2010 all…

The State of Uttar Pradesh amended its Basic Education Rules to incorporate the National Council for Teachers Education (NCTE) qualifications for elementary teachers, later revoking the weightage given to Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) marks. A writ petition challenged the revocation, and the Allahabad High Court set a…

The petitioners, Anganwadi workers and helpers employed under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme in Gujarat, sought gratuity benefits under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972. The Gujarat High Court’s Division Bench held that they were not employees and thus ineligible for gratuity, overturning an e…

The appellant, a father, lost his five‑year‑old son when a tanker struck the boy as they walked to school on a road that had no footpath or pedestrian crossing. The father filed a claim for Rs 25,00,000 before the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, which awarded Rs 7,82,000 with interest; the High Court later reduced the …

The Supreme Court examined challenges to the Uttar Pradesh government's decision to fix minimum qualifying marks of 65% for General and 60% for reserved candidates in the 2019 Assistant Teacher Recruitment Examination (ATRE-2019) after the exam had been conducted, and to allow B.Ed. candidates to participate in the sel…

The appellant, a two‑year‑old girl, suffered near‑total loss of lower‑limb function in a 1998 motor‑vehicle accident and was later certified by a Medical Board as having almost 100% permanent disability. The Motor Vehicles Tribunal dismissed her claim on technical grounds, but the Madras High Court set aside that dismi…

The case concerned the validity of a policy issued by the State of Rajasthan on 23 March 2011 that relaxed the minimum passing marks in the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) for candidates belonging to reserved categories. General‑category candidates challenged the policy, arguing that the relaxation violated the 60% pass…

The Supreme Court entertained a public‑interest writ filed by Bachpan Bachao Andolan seeking protection for children employed in Indian circuses, who were subjected to physical, sexual and emotional abuse and denied education. The Court examined whether such employment violated the children’s fundamental rights, especi…

The Supreme Court heard a writ petition concerning the exploitation of children in orphanages in Tamil Nadu and the failure of several States and Union Territories to implement protective legislation. Earlier orders dated 3 January 2013 and 7 February 2013 had directed the States to operationalise the Protection of Chi…

The Supreme Court examined the eligibility criteria for the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) under the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) guidelines, specifically the meaning of the term “pursuing” in clause 5(ii). The petitioners, who had been appointed as Assistant Teachers while still enrolled in a Teacher …

The appellants, managers of private aided schools, challenged the Kerala government's decision to take over their schools under Section 15 of the Kerala Education Act, 1958, arguing that the schools had already been closed and that the provision conflicted with the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Ac…

The Supreme Court heard a public‑interest writ filed by Disabled Rights Group seeking enforcement of reservation, accessibility and teaching‑facility provisions for persons with disabilities in higher education. The petitioners argued that institutions were not complying with the 3% reservation under the 1995 Disabilit…

The Public Union for Civil Liberties filed a public‑interest writ petition seeking enforcement of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 and the rehabilitation of freed bonded labourers. The Supreme Court examined the persistent non‑compliance of several states and Union Territories with earlier court direction…

The Supreme Court examined contempt petitions filed by a group of assistant‑teacher candidates who alleged that the Uttar Pradesh government had failed to appoint them despite interim orders directing the appointment of all candidates who scored at least 70% (general) or 65% (reserved) in the Teacher Eligibility Test. …

The petitioner, Dinesh Biwaji Ashtikar, sought admission for his children in a nearby unaided school under the 25% quota mandated by Section 12 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, but the school refused and the High Court dismissed his writ on the ground that he had not followed the onl…

The State of Rajasthan advertised recruitment for Teacher Grade III (Level I & II) in 2013, requiring candidates to possess the prescribed qualifications as on the last date of application. Respondent Trilok Ram, who was still completing the mandatory B.S.T.C. qualification, applied based on a High Court order and late…

The appellants filed a public interest litigation seeking the inclusion of the Rajasthani language in the syllabus of the Rajasthan Eligibility Examination for Teachers (REET) 2021 and the use of Rajasthani as a medium of instruction in schools. The High Court dismissed the petition, holding that a writ of mandamus req…

The Supreme Court examined the constitutional validity of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, particularly sections 3, 12(1)(b) and 12(1)(c), which impose admission and fee‑reimbursement obligations on schools. The petitioners argued that these provisions infringed the fundamental rights o…

The case concerned teachers of St. Paul's Senior Secondary School, a private unaided minority institution, who claimed that their salaries and allowances should be equal to those of teachers in government and government‑aided schools. The teachers argued that Article 14 and Article 39(d) of the Constitution, read with …

The Supreme Court examined whether the Bihar "Niyojit" teachers, appointed under the 2006 Rules and recruited by Panchayati Raj institutions, were entitled to pay parity with the pre‑2006 Government teachers under the doctrine of equal pay for equal work. The Court held that the two cadres are distinct, the Government‑…

The case concerned the Tamil Nadu Government's decision to relax the qualifying marks in the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) by 5% for candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, and other disadvantaged groups. The petitioners challenged the relaxation on grounds of lack of statut…

The Tamil Nadu government enacted the Uniform System of School Education Act, 2010 to introduce a common syllabus and textbooks for all schools, which was upheld by the High Court and the Supreme Court after certain provisions were struck down. After a change of government in 2011, the new administration hurriedly pass…

The Constitution (One Hundred and Third Amendment) Act, 2019 amended Articles 15 and 16 of the Indian Constitution to empower the State to provide up to 10% reservation for 'economically weaker sections' (EWS) of citizens, excluding Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and the non-creamy layer of Other Backward Classes.…

The Supreme Court examined the constitutional validity of clause (5) of Article 15 inserted by the Constitution (Ninety‑third Amendment) Act, 2005 and Article 21A inserted by the Constitution (Eighty‑sixth Amendment) Act, 2002. It held that neither amendment alters the basic structure of the Constitution nor abrogates …

The Supreme Court examined the Karnataka Government Order of 29‑April‑1994 that mandated mother‑tongue or Kannada as the medium of instruction in classes I‑IV of all government‑recognised schools. The Court clarified that ‘mother‑tongue’ in Art. 350A refers to the language of the linguistic minority group, to be determ…

The Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education Act, 2004, which created a board to regulate standards, teacher qualifications and examinations in madrasas, was struck down by the Allahabad High Court on the ground that it violated secularism and Articles 14 and 21A of the Constitution. The petitioners challenged the High…

The appellant, a Physical Training Teacher, was charged under Section 306 IPC for alleged abetment of his student’s suicide, based on an FIR alleging harassment and insult. The High Court dismissed the appellant’s petition under Section 482 CrPC to quash the FIR, holding that the FIR disclosed a cognizable offence. On …

The State of Karnataka appealed against the High Court's partial upholding of its 1994 Government Orders mandating mother‑tongue or Kannada as the medium of instruction in primary schools, which had been challenged by unaided English‑medium schools. The Supreme Court examined whether the State could compel the mother t…

The case concerned the recruitment of assistant teachers in West Bengal primary schools, where the eligibility rule required a Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed.) as prescribed by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE). Because the COVID‑19 pandemic delayed the 2020‑22 D.El.Ed. batch, several candidat…

The petitioners, who were in‑service elementary teachers as of 10 August 2017, completed an 18‑month Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed.) through NIOS under the NCTE’s ODL scheme and applied for recruitment under a 2022 West Bengal notification. The High Court, relying on the Supreme Court’s decision in Jaiveer S…

The Supreme Court examined the status and remuneration of part‑time contractual instructors appointed under the Samagra Shiksha Scheme in Uttar Pradesh. The teachers had been hired in 2013 on a fixed honorarium of Rs 7,000 per month for an eleven‑month contract, but the contract was repeatedly renewed for over ten year…

The Environment & Consumer Protection Foundation filed a writ petition under Article 32 seeking directions to improve basic infrastructure in government, aided and locally‑run schools so that the right to free and compulsory education under Article 21A could be realised. While the petition was pending, Parliament enact…

The Governor of Jharkhand issued a 2016 notification reserving 100% of Class III and IV district‑level teaching posts for local residents of thirteen scheduled districts. This was challenged as violating Articles 14, 16(2), 16(3), 35 and the non‑obstante clause of Paragraph 5(1) of the Fifth Schedule. The High Court de…

The State of Kerala challenged the High Court's order striking down two guidelines it had issued for granting No Objection Certificates (NOC) for CBSE affiliation: a minimum land requirement of three acres and a minimum enrolment of 300 students. The Supreme Court examined whether these requirements were arbitrary and …

The Supreme Court examined whether the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) must be mandatory for teachers in minority educational institutions and for in‑service teachers appointed before the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE Act) came into force. The Court considered the interplay between Article …