HC questions Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya Scheme authorities for “blindly adopting hyper technical approach” to deny admissions

Advocate Prasad Bhavake for the petitioners sought to quash and set aside the orders passed by the concerned authority cancelling petitioners’ admissions to Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya school in Rajapur, Ratnagiri district for Class VI.

The petitioners, who are originally from Kolhapur and were Class V students of government-run school in Ratnagiri submitted that they had filled up applications fo appear for Navodaya Vidyalaya Selection Test (JNVST-an entrance Test) to secure admission in the Navodaya Vidyalaya in Ratnagiri for Class VI. The said entrance test is designed and conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Examination (CBSE).

The pleas stated that the JNVST-2021 which was scheduled to be held in March, 2021, was rescheduled on three occasions due to ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and was finally held in August, 2021.

The JNVST– 2021, which was to be held in March 2021 was rescheduled on three occasions due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and was finally held in August 2021. All the five petitioners appeared for the test and their results were declared on September 28, 2021 and they were selected for admission and their names were in the merit list.

The petitioners submitted their documents online and they were granted admission.

However, six weeks later, in November, 2021, the concerned authority issued orders to the petitioners cancelling their admissions on reasons including that they obtained admission when they were “in the middle of Class V” and that they were from Kolhapur and not Ratnagiri and therefore they cannot get an admission to a school in Ratnagiri.

However, in November 2021 their admissions were cancelled on various grounds including that they were in the middle of Class V when they secured admission and that the students were from Kolhapur and not Ratnagiri and hence cannot be granted admission to a school in Ratnagiri.

The bench found the reasons unsustainable and strange and noted, “Merely reciting that the parents stay in Kolhapur district is insufficient. There is no law that a child may not be sent away from his home town for the purposes of Education.”

It added that “once admission is granted, it cannot be cancelled on the basis that one year has not been completed (because the year began late due to pandemic)”

“We are also unable to understand in a case like this whether the objective of Respondents is to assist students in getting an education, particularly in stressful and unprecedented time such as Covid or to blindly adopt some hyper-technical approach to deny education to those entitled in law to it,” Justice Patel added for the bench

The Court went on to note “We must ask the questions as to what purpose is being served by this action and whether the object of the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya Scheme is in fact being fulfilled,” the court said.

Noting that “nobody has been adversely affected by admission granted to the five young students,” the bench questioned as to the same was “in advancement of this scheme, the policy or any objective of education.”

Setting aside the impugned orders, the bench observed, “As to the question of delay and laches, we are unable to understand how this can ever be taken by a body that is set up to promote education and to use it against students seeking an education.”