The High Court of Chhattisgarh has taken suo motu cognizance of reports highlighting significant delays in the admission process for Class 1 under the Right to Education (RTE) Act. Despite the academic session having commenced on April 1, over 16,000 applications remain unverified, prompting the Court to assemble on a non-working day to address the urgency of the matter.
Background
The proceedings arose from a news report published on April 4, 2026, in Haribhumi Bilaspur Bhumi, titled “शिक्षा सत्र शुरू भी हो गया, गरीब बच्चों का एडमिशन तो छोड़िए, 16 हजार आवेदनों की जांच तक नहीं हो सकी” (The academic session has started, forget the admission of poor children, even the investigation of 16 thousand applications could not be done).
The report detailed that out of 38,438 applications received for Class 1 admissions under the RTE Act, only 23,766 (approximately 62%) had been verified. This left more than 16,000 applications pending across the state, with several districts reporting verification rates of less than 10%.
Court’s Observations
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Judge Ravindra Kumar Agrawal noted that the Directorate of Public Instruction (DPI) had set a timeline for registration and nodal verification from February 16 to March 31. However, this process remained incomplete even after the deadline.
The Court observed that the delay was allegedly due to the “slow pace of verification at the nodal principal level,” which has directly impacted the subsequent stages of the admission process.
Highlighting the potential consequences, the Court stated:
“…school allotment through a lottery is scheduled between April 13 and 17 but may be delayed due to incomplete verification, causing inconvenience to parents who may be required to make repeated visits.”
Recognizing the “seriousness of the news report,” the Court decided to hear the matter immediately on April 4, 2026, even though the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was originally scheduled for hearing on April 8, 2026.
Arguments
During the special hearing, the Court heard Mr. Devershi Thakur, counsel for the petitioner, and Mr. P.K. Bhaduri, Deputy Advocate General appearing for the State. Senior Advocate Mr. Ashish Shrivastava, assisted by Mr. Rahul Ambast, appeared for respondents No. 34, 35, 36, 37, 39, 40, 41, and 47. Other counsels, including Rishabh Gupta and Ghanshyam Patel, also represented various respondents.
Decision and Directions
The Court took suo motu cognizance of the situation and issued specific directions to the state authorities. The Joint Secretary of the School Education Department, Government of Chhattisgarh—who was already under previous orders to file an affidavit—has now been specifically directed to file an additional affidavit.
The affidavit must address the issues raised in the published news items and detail the steps taken by the government to rectify the delays in the verification and admission process.
The matter is scheduled for further hearing on April 8, 2026.
