‘Can’t Direct Governor To Act’: Delhi High Court Rejects PIL Seeking Enactment Of 2015 Bill To Ban Screening For Nursery Admissions

The Delhi High Court has rejected as not maintainable a public interest litigation seeking expeditious finalization of the Delhi School Education (Amendment) Bill, 2015 which proposes to prohibit the screening procedure for admissions in nursery or pre-primary level in schools.

“In the considered opinion of this Court, even though the Bill has been passed by the House, it is always open to the Governor to agree or to send the Bill back to the House and this Court ought not to pass a writ of mandamus directing the Governor to act by passing a writ,” a division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad said.

The public interest litigation was moved by NGO Social Jurist represented by Advocate Ashok Aggarwal.

Going through the relevant provisions, the bench said that it is not proper for the court to issue any kind of writ to the Governor and interfere in a legislative process of accepting or rejecting a Bill within any timeframe.

“It is not proper for a High Court while exercising its jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India to direct a Governor who is a constitutional authority to set a timeframe in matters which come purely within the domain of the Governor,” it added.

Furthermore, the court observed that what the Governor does is peculiarly within his discretion, adding that he cannot feel bound on the act and advice of his Ministers.

“Courts cannot control or interfere in this procedure and cannot direct the Governor or pass a writ to the Governor to grant assent or desist from granting assent. Article 200 of the Constitution of India within its fold indicates that the Governor must as soon as possible after the presentation of the Bill to him for his assent either return the Bill together with a message to the House/Houses to reconsider the Bill or any specified provision thereof,” the court said.

Calling it a “child friendly bill”, the plea said that the 2015 Bill has been “hanging” between the Union and Delhi Governments for the last seven years without any justification, adding that the same is against public interest and opposed to public policy.

The NGO had also submitted that it had made a representation to the authorities on March 21 requesting them to urgently finalise the Bill. However, on April 11, a response was received from Union of India stating that the finalizing of bill is still pending between the two governments.

“The petitioner submits that people have a right to know why a child friendly Bill has not seen the light of the day even after 7 years of its unanimously passing from Delhi Assembly in 2015. It is submitted that this child friendly Bill banning screening procedure in Nursery admissions is hanging between Central and Delhi Government for the last 7 years without any justification and against the public interest,” the plea stated.

It added that more than 1.5 lakh admissions at Nursery level take place every year in Delhi in private schools and children above 3 years of age are subjected to screening procedure which is against the letter and spirit of Right to Information Act, 2009.

“There is no justification at all to not to prohibit screening procedure at Nursery level and therefore, respondents are required to finalise the Bill as soon as possible to do justice to tiny tots of the Country,” the plea stated.

Title: Social Jurist, A Civil Rights Group v. Government of NCT of Delhi & Ors.

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Del) 547

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