New Delhi, September 15 (Daily Kiran) : The Supreme Court of India has issued a notice to the Secretary of the Ministry of Education in a contempt case, following allegations that the ministry did not comply with a court directive. This directive required the ministry to address a petition concerning the registration, recognition, regulation, and monitoring of institutions providing secular or religious education to children under the age of 14.
The petition calls for a robust regulatory framework for educational institutions to effectively oversee children’s education and rights. Justices Dipankar Dutta and Shil Nagoo have demanded a response from IAS officer T.K. Anil Kumar regarding the allegations made by lawyer Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, who claims that the central government failed to adhere to the Supreme Court’s instructions within the specified timeframe.
This action relates to a previous order from May 11, where the court had disposed of Upadhyay’s writ petition. The court had instructed the Ministry of Education to consider a petition submitted on February 10, 2026.
During that hearing, the Supreme Court declined to review the writ petition and advised the petitioner to await the outcome of his application. The court had also directed the central government to make a decision on the application within the stipulated time.
In his contempt petition, Upadhyay alleged that despite clear directives from the Supreme Court, the relevant officials did not take any action on his application. He requested that both the central and state governments register, recognize, and oversee all institutions providing secular and/or religious education to children under 14 years old.
Upadhyay also sought clarification regarding Article 30(1) of the Constitution, asserting that it specifically reiterates Article 19(1)(g), which pertains to the rights of educational institutions offering religious education under Article 26.
In his contempt application, Upadhyay claimed to have visited several border districts in Uttar Pradesh in January, where he found numerous institutions that were neither registered nor recognized. He alleged that the number of such unregistered and unrecognized institutions is rapidly increasing in border areas, negatively impacting children.
The petition also referenced Article 21A of the Constitution and cited remarks from the Supreme Court in the case of Tamil Nadu State vs. K. Shyam Sundar. It argued that without proper registration, recognition, oversight, and monitoring, children cannot receive education of equal quality.
This issue had previously been raised by Upadhyay in a different public interest litigation (PIL). In August, the Supreme Court dismissed his third petition on the same issue, noting that it would not entertain repeated petitions related to the same matter after prior proceedings.
The apex court clarified that Upadhyay’s earlier writ petition was resolved by allowing him to approach the competent authority, while another petition was dismissed with the observation that he should wait for a decision on his application. The Supreme Court is expected to revisit the contempt proceedings on October 16.
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