The Supreme Court today declined to entertain a writ petition submitted by AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh contesting the Uttar Pradesh government’s decision to close or merge 105 government-operated primary schools across the state.
A bench led by Justices Dipankar Datta and A.G. Masih noted that identical issues are currently pending before the Allahabad High Court, and thus should be addressed there first.
Observing that Singh’s plea appeared to be enforcing rights under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, the bench remarked that statutory rights must be pursued via Article 226 in the High Court, rather than through Article 32 in the Supreme Court.
The petition was ultimately permitted to be withdrawn, with the Court granting Singh the liberty to approach the High Court expeditiously.
The petition had struck down UP’s June 16 executive order and the follow-on June 24 listing of 105 schools targeted for closure, challenging the move as arbitrary, unconstitutional, and legally impermissible. Singh asserted that the closures violated constitutional guarantees under Article 21A and the RTE Act.
He further argued that schools established under Section 6 and Rule 4(1)(a) of the RTE must not be shut or merged via executive orders lacking legislative authority, as this risks denying vulnerable children especially those in Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, minority communities, and girls from their right to local schooling. Additionally, he claimed there was a lack of public consultation and failure to involve School Management Committees as mandated.
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