Gurgaon: A private school cannot reject a govt allotment under Right to Education (RTE) quota and keep a child out of class over disputes about distance or eligibility, a district court has ruled.Ordering Blue Bells Model School in Sector 4 to grant admission forthwith for the 2026-27 academic session, the court observed: “The fact that Blue Bells Model School was the child’s second preference did not entitle it (school) to disregard the allotment.”The case arose after the school refused admission to a child allotted a Grade I seat through a computerised lottery conducted by education department. The child’s father, Sushil Kumar, approached the court after the school cited the distance between their house and the institution, among other objections.Civil judge (junior division) Jasmeet Singh allowed an interim application filed on the child’s behalf, directing the school not to deny or delay admission on the grounds raised in the proceedings. The judge held that the objections could be examined by the competent education authorities, but could not be used to keep the child out of school in the meantime.Opposing the plea, the school’s counsel, Mahabir Prashad Gupta, argued that the institution was only the child’s second preference and the outcome of the school that was their first choice had not been disclosed. He also disputed the residential distance category, saying the family fell within the 1-3km bracket rather than within 1km.The school questioned the family’s income eligibility, raised the non-impleadment of education authorities and argued that the prescribed RTE grievance mechanism should have been pursued. The child’s counsel, Jagjeet Singh, sought interim relief to secure admission under the Act.The court relied on Supreme Court’s April 28 ruling in Lucknow Public School, ELDICO & Others vs State of Uttar Pradesh & Ors. It held that once the govt completes the prescribed admission process and allocates a school, the institution cannot sit in appeal over the authority’s decision. A school challenging a selection or a child’s eligibility must approach the appropriate authority rather than withhold admission while awaiting a decision.Haryana’s RTE guidelines provide for verification of residential distance and allow challenges to rejection before the block-level monitoring committee. They also recognise annual income exceeding Rs 1.8 lakh as a ground to reject an economically weaker section (EWS) claim. But the court said such disputes must be decided through the prescribed process, not used independently to deny admission.The judge found that the official allotment established a strong prima facie case for the child. Delaying admission, the court noted, risked depriving the child of valuable instructional time and educational opportunity.The court order does not finally decide the disputed questions of distance, income eligibility or document validity. The school can now submit its objections and supporting material to the RTE authority, which must decide them in accordance with law. The court also held that the existence of an administrative grievance mechanism did not bar the family from seeking judicial protection against immediate denial of admission.
