Cannot Uproot Students Overnight: Bombay High Court Stays Zilla Parishad Notice Moving Special-Needs Children To Regular Schools

The Bombay High Court recently stayed the notice issued by the Chief Executing Officers (CEO) of various Zilla Parishads in Maharashtra, which provided for removing specially-abled children from their special schools to admitting them in normal schools to bring them into the mainstream education.A division bench of Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Abhay Mantri opined that admitting such students directly to normal schools, without a proper road map would make the entire exercise "counter productive.""We find that such orders, without a proper road-map and implementation of a proper policy, is likely to be counter-productive. So also, if parents desire that their differently abled child should commence education in a special school before thinking of bringing the child in the main stream in normal schools, there cannot be a compulsion of uprooting students from such special schools and transplanting them or relocating them in general schools," the judges observed in the order passed on April 2.The will and desire of the biological/ natural guardians of such children, the bench said, must also be taken into account. "As such, the impugned notice stands stayed until further orders," the bench ordered. The judges, however, clarified that the instant interim order would not preclude the State from proceeding with its study on Maharashtra State Policy for Persons with Disability, 2018.The order was passed on a plea filed by Kakasaheb Bamre Nivasi Apang Kalyan Kendra, a special school in Nashik City. The said school challenged the notice issued on March 12 by the Zilla Parishad for mandatory integration of students with loco motor disability in general schools for the upcoming academic year of 2026-2027. The petitioner school contended that it was granted a licence to run a special school from 2021 till 2026 and its application for renewal of licence was pending before the concerned authorities. The Zilla Parishads have claimed that the decision to integrate special children into general schools is the State's endeavour of introducing a policy of universal accessibility to the specially abled students in order to bring them into the main stream and mingle with the normal schools. On the other hand, the special school contended that the instant decision is of no benefit for the specially-abled students as it will have "wide-ranging" and "serious adverse" impact on the education, health and overall well being of such students. Additional Government Pleader Priyabhushan Kakade, however, made a statement before the judges, that the State, considering the future of the students, has decided not to pass any adverse orders against the Institutions which are nearing the end of the academic year. He further stated that the renewal order would be issued shortly. Hearing the same, the bench recorder, "We would expect the renewal order to be passed and copy be served upon the Petitioners on or before April 15, 2026."With these observations, the matter has been adjourned for further hearing in June. Appearance:Advocates Dr. Uday Warunjikar, Sumit Kate, Isha Hajare and Sakshi Inamdar, Advocate appeared for the Petitioners.Additional Government Pleader Priyabhushan Kakade assisted by Assistant Government Pleader VD Badgujar represented the State.Case Title: Namdevrao Mohol Vidya and Krida Prathisthan vs State of Maharashtra (Writ Petition 4140 of 2026)Click Here To Read/Download Order

Cannot Uproot Students Overnight: Bombay High Court Stays Zilla Parishad Notice Moving Special-Needs Children To Regular Schools

Narsi Benwal

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