The Delhi court issued an important ruling regarding the admission of children under the EWS quota. The court ordered that the possibility of enrolling a seven-year-old child in the current academic year be considered. Furthermore, if enrollment in the initially allocated school is not possible, the child must be provided with a place in any other accredited school within five kilometers of their home.
This case involves seven-year-old Viraj Solanki, who approached the High Court through his father, Gaurav Kumar Solanki. The hearing was conducted by a single bench presided over by Judge Jasmeet Singh.
According to the petition, Viraj applied for admission to the first grade for the 2026-27 academic year under the EWS/DG category through the Directorate of Education. This was done under the 25% seats reserved as per Section 12(1)(c) of the Right to Education Act, 2009. In the first computerized lottery held on April 6, 2026, the child's name was not included in the list. However, in the second list published on July 10, 2026, he was allotted a seat at Naveen Bharti Preparatory School.
Nevertheless, the petition stated that the family did not receive timely information about the allotment of the seat. The party claimed that they had not received any SMS or other notifications regarding the allocation. The child's father asserted that when applying for EWS for his daughter, they received similar messages, so they expected to receive a notification this time as well. Due to the lack of information, the family could not complete the school enrollment process within the stipulated timeframe.
As per the petition, the child's father learned about the allotted seat only in September 2026 when he accessed the Directorate of Education portal system to register for higher grades. Following this, the family contacted the school, municipal corporation, and the Directorate of Education, submitting a written application on this matter on September 23, but the enrollment did not take place. Subsequently, the child's name was also absent from the third distribution list published on September 24.
Sandip Kapoor, senior partner at Karanjwala & Company, representing the applicant, argued that the parents received no SMS or other notifications, despite the father previously receiving such alerts when applying for EWS for his daughter. He further stated that such conduct by officials—from failing to inform about the allotment to refusing admission and removing the name without explanation—violates the constitutional provisions of Article 14 and 21-A, as well as the legislative requirements of the RTE Act.
Given the seriousness of the issue concerning the continuity of the child's education, the court directed the Directorate of Education and Naveen Bharti Preparatory School, including the respondents, to consider the possibility of enrolling the child in the current semester. If admission to this school proves impossible, the Directorate of Education is obligated to allocate a place for the child in any other accredited school within a five-kilometer radius of their home and ensure their enrollment.