The Delhi High Court has affirmed the city government’s policy of transferring cash subsidies to economically weaker section and disadvantaged group students in private schools to purchase uniforms, declining to reopen an earlier ruling that sanctioned the approach.
In an order dated October 12, a division bench comprising Justice Subramonium Prasad and Justice Renu Bhatnagar dismissed a review petition filed by the non-governmental organisation Justice For All. The judges observed that the plea was an effort to re-argue the entire dispute and noted that judicial intervention in an administrative policy is impermissible unless the decision is arbitrary, whimsical, or capricious to an extent that shocks the court’s conscience.
The court concluded that the administration’s choice to disburse monetary aid rather than procure and hand out clothing did not cross that threshold, adding that the government’s June 10, 2025 policy aligned with statutory requirements after taking into account the materials and ministerial notes placed on record.
Challenge Over Statutory Obligations
The petitioner organisation had urged the court to reconsider its January 23 verdict, arguing that the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act obligates the Delhi government to furnish physical uniforms to students enrolled under the disadvantaged group and economically weaker section (EWS) categories in aided and unaided private institutions, rather than substituting them with cash payouts.
The Delhi administration had countered that centralized procurement and distribution were logistically unviable. Following a cabinet determination regarding operational hurdles, the government adopted the policy in June 2025 to credit an appropriate monetary allowance directly to eligible beneficiaries.
Logistical Constraints Cited By Court
The dismissal upholds the bench’s January 23 determination, which validated the direct benefit transfer mechanism as compliant with the Right to Education Act and its associated rules.
In that ruling, the court had noted that public authorities faced genuine practical impediments in managing tailored orders for every child. The bench had pointed out the near impossibility of measuring individual students, sourcing varying textiles via the government e-marketplace portal, tailoring the garments to size, and coordinating distribution across private schools ahead of the academic year, concluding that cash subsidies offered a viable way to ensure students obtain their uniforms on schedule.
