Is admission test for Delhi govt's CM Shri Schools violative of RTE Act? Supreme Court to decide

A PIL has been filed before the Supreme Court of India seeking a declaration that subjecting children to the admission test for admission in CM SHRI schools under the Delhi government is violative of Article 21-A Constitution of India read with Section 13 of the RTE Act 2009.

The plea filed by 11-year old Janmesh Sagar further challenges the validity of circular issued by the government in July 2025 laying down guidelines for admission test for admission in classes VI, VII and VIII in CM SHRI Schools for the session 2025-26 for violating Section 13 of the RTE Act 2009.

"While painting the highest scoring few as ‘talented and deserving meritorious students with high potential’ it also at the same time taints and forever condemns the rest to being labelled as ‘Untalented’ , “Undeserving”, “Unmeritorious students with LOW potential” at a tender age – hardly the guarantee of a future life with dignity as is their right vide Article 21 of the constitution of India", the petition states.

Sagar an eleven-year-old Class VI student of Government Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya, Janta Flat, Nand Nagri, Delhi, eligible by age and class for admission in CM SHRI Schools for the academic year 2025-26, had applied for admission on August 2, 2025 in terms of the impugned circular issued by the Government of NCT of Delhi. In terms of thereof, he was subjected to admission test on September 13, 2025 for admission in CM SHRI Schools which has been declared as Specified Category schools.

It is the petitioner's case that in law by virtue of Section 13 of RTE Act 2009 admission test is prohibited as admission test comes under purview of “screening procedure” in the meaning of Section 2(o) of the RTE Act 2009.

The petitioner has clarified in his plea that he has instead of approaching the Delhi High Court under Article 226 of Constitution of India, directly approached the Supreme Court under Article 32 because a Division Bench of the Delhi High Court in WP(C) 7796 of 2011 titled Social Jurist, A Civil Rights Group versus Government of NCT of Delhi & Ors, has already taken a view that provisions of RTE Act 2009 do not apply to the admissions in specified category of schools. This view taken by the High Court is submitted to be contrary to the provisions of Article 21-A of the Constitution and Section 13 of RTE Act 2009.

As per the impugned Circular Government of NCT of Delhi has established 75 CM SHRI Schools which has been declared as Specified Category schools. However, applications for admission have been invited only for 33 schools in this academic year 2025-26.

Arguing that equal opportunities to all have been emphasized as crucial throughout the stage of elementary education up to the age of 14 years, the petition relies on guidelines issued by the Government under section 35 (1) of the RTE Act which explain that “the objective of the provisions of section 13 (1) read with section 2(o) is to ensure that the schools adopt an admission procedure that is non-discriminatory rational and transparent, and that schools do not subject children and their parents to admission tests and interviews in order to decide whether they will admit a child or not.”

Court has further been told that the aims and design of CM Shree schools to “prioritise talented and deserving meritorious students with high potential” are contrary to the Constitutional aims of striving for “Equality of status and Opportunity’; and its directives enunciated in Article 38 and 39 to use the resources to subserve the common good and instead of seeking to provide equally good opportunities to all children. The government of NCT of Delhi is discriminating among the children whose education they are entrusted with by providing an inequitable quality of education to a ‘select’ few, the plea adds.

Case Title: Master Janmesh Sagar through his next friend and natural father Arvind Sagar vs. Government of NCT of Delhi and Anr.