Private Schools Also Bound by Entire RTE Act: Allahabad High Court
Court holds that all provisions of the RTE Act, including the restriction on detention, apply even to unaided private schools
The Allahabad High Court says entire RTE Act is applicable to private schools
The Allahabad High Court at Lucknow Bench has held that the entire Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (RTE Act), including the restrictions on detaining or failing students till the completion of elementary education, applies to private unaided schools as well.
The bench of Justice Pankaj Bhatia allowed a writ petition filed by two students, 11-year-old Huzaifa Khan and his 14-year-old brother, through their father. The boys, studying in Classes V and IX respectively at a Lucknow-based ICSE-affiliated private school, were detained after the 2024–25 examinations for low attendance and poor academic performance.
The petitioners argued that their detention was illegal under Section 16 of the RTE Act, 2009, which provides that no child shall be held back or expelled until the completion of elementary education. They further claimed that the school’s decision was arbitrary and stemmed from resentment over their participation in cricket, which occasionally clashed with school attendance.
The school, however, contended that the RTE Act did not fully apply to unaided private institutions and that the students’ low attendance and performance warranted their detention. It argued that unrestricted promotion would compromise academic discipline and the school’s reputation.
The counsel for the school furhther argued that if the school is not allowed to fail/detain students, the teachers would also stop paying attention to the children, and in that case, even the teachers will not be able to be evaluated by the Management appropriately.
Rejecting these arguments, Justice Bhatia relied on the Supreme Court’s 2012 decision in Society for Unaided Private Schools of Rajasthan v. Union of India, which upheld the validity of the RTE Act and extended its applicability to all schools defined under Section 2(n), including private unaided ones.
The high court held that all provisions of the Act, including Section 16’s restrictions on detention, were binding on such schools.
“The distinction sought to be drawn between aided and unaided private schools in the matter of applicability of Section 16 merits rejection,” the court observed, adding that the internal rules of ICSE or the school’s disciplinary regulations cannot override a statutory mandate.
Court also noted that the Uttar Pradesh government had not issued any special notification under Section 16(3) allowing schools to hold back students, meaning the RTE’s default rule that children must not be detained stood fully applicable.
Calling the school’s decision violative of both Section 16(2) and Section 16(4) of the Act, the bench directed the institution to readmit both children. The younger student was allowed to take a re-examination within two months and continue in Class VI, while the elder was to be readmitted to Class IX, as his academic records were already uploaded with the ICSE board.
“The internal guidelines of attendance and the rules of the affiliating board must yield to the mandate of the Right to Education Act,” the court ruled.
Case Title: Huzaifa Khan Thru. Their Father Quayum Khan And Another vs. State of UP and 3 others
Order Date: September 19, 2025
Bench: Justice Pankaj Bhatia