A plea has been submitted to the Supreme Court challenging a Delhi High Court judgment that declined to compel the Lieutenant Governor (LG) to grant assent to or return the Delhi School Education (Amendment) Bill, 2015. This bill aims to prohibit the screening process for admitting children to nursery schools.
The plea, filed by the civil rights group “Social Jurist,” asserts that it received a response from the Union of India dated April 11, 2023, indicating that the bill is still pending with the Central Government and the Government of NCT of Delhi and has not been finalized.
The High Court had refused to entertain the plea, asserting that courts should not interfere in the legislative process. It stated that it would be improper for the court to issue a writ directing the LG to accept or reject the Bill.
In its appeal to the Supreme Court, the petitioner-NGO contends that the primary objective of the Delhi School Education (Amendment) Bill, 2015, is to safeguard young children from exploitation and unfair discrimination during nursery school admissions in private schools. However, this objective is being thwarted by the delay in finalizing the bill by both the Central and Delhi governments.