The article is an excerpt from the judgment Anjuman Ishaat E. Taleem Trust v. The State of Maharashtra and ors. (2025 SCC Online SC 1912)
115. To begin with, a study conducted by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights in 2021 (NCPCR Study) reveals that only 8.76% of students in minority schools come from socially and economically disadvantaged sections(68). This low representation cuts across all communities and highlights a systemic exclusion.
[(68) NCPCR, “Impact of exemption under Article 15(5) w.r.t. Article 21A of the Constitution of India on education of children of minority communities” (March 2021, NCPCR & Quality Council of India)]
116. As per the NCPCR Study, an overwhelming 62.5% of the total students in minority schools belong to non-minority communities, and in states like Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Punjab, and Delhi, this percentage was found to be even higher. This is indicative of many institutions labelled as “minority” not serving their communities exclusively, but continuing to enjoy exemption from inclusionary mandates.
117. In this light, the consequences of Pramati Educational and Cultural Trust (supra) cannot be confined merely to its holding that aided and unaided minority institutions are exempt from the purview of the RTE Act. To grasp the full weight of the decision, there is need to look beyond its doctrinal contours and examine its consequences on the lives of millions of children for whom the RTE Act was conceived.
118. As noted, in Pramati Educational and Cultural Trust (supra), the Constitution Bench was called upon to determine two issues. For the purposes of the present matter, our concern is confined only to the second issue which the Bench framed. For ease of reference, we reproduce it once again hereunder:
“5.2. (ii) Whether by inserting Article 21A of the Constitution by the Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2002, Parliament has altered the basic structure or framework of the Constitution?”
119. The above issue gave rise to a connected sub-issue: whether the provisions of the RTE Act could validly apply to minority schools, aided or unaided, falling under Article 30(1) of the Constitution. The Bench while holding that Article 21A, by itself, did not violate or alter the basic structure of the Constitution, took the view while addressing the sub-issue that the entire RTE Act, insofar as it applied to minority educational institutions protected under Article 30(1), was unconstitutional and ultra vires.
120. What is particularly striking to us is the Bench’s conclusion on the sub-issue. Such conclusion appears to be based solely on interpretation of Section 12 of the RTE Act by the Bench, and sub-section (1)(c) thereof in particular, mandating reservation of 25% seats at the entry level for children from weaker sections and disadvantaged groups. The Bench observed that “legal obligation to admit children belonging to weaker sections and disadvantaged groups in the neighbourhood who need not be children of the members of the minority community which has established the school […] cannot be forced upon a minority institution because that may destroy the minority character of the school“(69). Resting thereon, it was concluded that if the RTE Act is made applicable to minority schools, aided or unaided, the right of the minorities under Article 30(1) of the Constitution will stand abrogated. Conspicuously silent as it is on any examination or assessment of the other provisions of the RTE Act such as those relating to teacher qualifications, infrastructural norms, or child safety measures and how, if at all, they conflict with Article 30(1) – the one aspect that eludes us is the complete absence in Pramati Educational and Cultural Trust (supra) of any discussion on or any analysis of any provision of the RTE Act vis-a-vis Article 30(1) of the Constitution other than Section 12.
[(69) Paragraph 55]
121. The point of concern which, therefore, arises is: if the only substantive concern raised by the Bench was related to Section 12(1)(c), what then justified the sweeping conclusion that the entire RTE Act was inapplicable to minority institutions, aided or unaided? Unfortunately, Pramati Educational and Cultural Trust (supra) does not appear to offer any reasoning whatsoever for extending the exemption beyond Section 12(1)(c). In the absence of any analysis of the other sections of the RTE Act vis-a-vis Article 30(1), the blanket exclusion, with respect, appears legally suspect and questionable apart from being disproportionate.
122. We are mindful of the decision of a three-Judge Bench of this Court in M.R. Apparao (supra) where it has been held that the decision of this Court cannot be assailed on the ground that certain aspects had not been considered or that the relevant provisions were not brought to the notice of the Court. However, the relevant dictum in paragraph 7 of such decision is primarily for the guidance of the high courts and the subordinate courts which are bound by Article 141 to follow the law declared, even though there could be valid reason to suspect and conclude that law had been declared without considering all aspects or relevant provisions. No matter what the circumstances are, the high courts and the subordinate courts are bound to follow the decision.
123. The law declared by the Supreme Court, per Article 141 of the Constitution, binds all courts which would include us too. Nonetheless, our jurisdiction permits and we possess a unique authority, unlike the high courts and the subordinate courts, to re-examine legal principles laid down by previous Benches. Such re-examination, however, cannot obviously be resorted to except for compelling reasons. Apart from the core issues being considered by us, as to whether reconsideration of Pramati Educational and Cultural Trust (supra) is necessitated or not, one other compelling reason that dissuades us from blindly following it has its roots in M.R. Apparao (supra) itself. In paragraph 7, we find inter alia the following passage:
“7. … It is the principle found out upon a reading of a judgment as a whole, in the light of the questions before the Court that forms the ratio and not any particular word or sentence. To determine whether a decision has ‘declared law’ it cannot be said to be a law when a point is disposed of on concession and what is binding is the principle underlying a decision. A judgment of the Court has to be read in the context of questions which arose for consideration in the case in which the judgment was delivered. An ‘obiter dictum’ as distinguished from a ratio decidendi is an observation by the Court on a legal question suggested in a case before it but not arising in such manner as to require a decision. Such an obiter may not have a binding precedent as the observation was unnecessary for the decision pronounced, but even though an obiter may not have a binding effect as a precedent, but it cannot be denied that it is of considerable weight. The law which will be binding under Article 141 would, therefore, extend to all observations of points raised and decided by the Court in a given case. So far as constitutional matters are concerned, it is a practice of the Court not to make any pronouncement on points not directly raised for its decision. …”
(emphasis ours)
124. To what extent Pramati Educational and Cultural Trust (supra) lays down law which is definitive and binding under Article 141 or its observations are to be treated as ‘obiter dictum’ would be considered later as we progress further.
125. We are a bit distressed to note from the materials placed on record including the NCPCR Study that exclusion of the RTE Act has created a fertile ground for misuse. Since the Constitution (Ninety-third Amendment) Act, 2006, there has been a sharp rise in schools applying for minority status. The NCPCR Study finds that around 85% of minority institutions received their minority status post-2006, i.e., many after the passage of the RTE Act.
126. These trends, arguably, raise concerns that the minority status is often claimed not to preserve identity, but to avoid compliance with inclusionary obligations under the RTE Act. The absence of clear guidelines on minimum enrolment of minority students has also made it easier for institutions to claim minority status without fulfilling its spirit. With no obligation to admit disadvantaged students, many of these institutions remain insulated from broader constitutional goals of equality and inclusion.
127. The RTE Act ensures children a range of entitlements like basic infrastructure, trained teachers, books, uniforms, and mid-day meals, which are essential for a dignified educational experience. However, minority schools, excluded from the RTE Act’s purview, are not necessarily bound to provide these facilities. Some minority schools might provide a few facilities as are mandated by the RTE Act, but others may fall short leaving their students without access to such mandated facilities. For many of these students, such benefits are not just amenities but affirmations of belonging, equality, and recognition.
128. Beyond physical provisions, the RTE Act also ensures common curricular standards through notified academic authorities(70). These guarantee that every child receives quality education based on constitutional values. Minority institutions, however, operate without such uniform guidelines, leaving children and their parents uncertain about what and how they are taught, and often disconnected from the national framework of universal learning.
[(70) see, Section 29 of the RTE Act]
129. For the reasons discussed above, we hasten to observe with utmost humility at our command that the decision in Pramati Educational and Cultural Trust (supra) might have, unknowingly, jeopardized the very foundation of universal elementary education. Exemption of minority institutions from the RTE Act leads to fragmentation of the common schooling vision and weakening of the idea of inclusivity and universality envisioned by Article 21A. We are afraid, instead of uniting children across caste, class, creed, and community, it reinforces ‘divides’ and ‘dilutes’ the transformative potential of shared learning spaces. If the goal is to build an equal and cohesive society, such exemptions move us in the opposite direction. What commenced as an attempt to protect cultural and religious freedoms has inadvertently created a regulatory loophole, leading to a surge in institutions seeking minority status to bypass the regime ordained by the RTE Act.
130. It is trite that the State has been entrusted with the responsibility of achieving substantive equality by the framers of the Constitution with the introduction of Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution. Knit neatly together, they mandate the State to ensure that the inherent inequality in the society is reduced by providing a level playing field to the weak and oppressed members of the society.
131. In the wake of Pramati Educational and Cultural Trust (supra), we are pained to observe that minority status seems to have become a vehicle for circumventing the mandate of the RTE Act. In our humble opinion, it has opened up a situation whereby multiple institutions have sought to acquire minority status to become autonomous. It has also opened the door for potential misuse. Exemption of even aided minority institutions from the framework of the RTE Act has further encouraged the proliferation of minority-tagged schools not necessarily for the preservation of language, script, or culture, but to circumvent statutory obligations. This has distorted the spirit of Article 30(1), which was never intended to create enclaves of privilege at the cost of national developmental goals.
132. We end the discussion by observing that the true impact and legacy of a judicial pronouncement lies not merely in the precision of its reasoning, but by whether it stands the test of time; whether, years after its pronouncement, it continues to respond meaningfully to the problem it set out to address and serve the ends of justice or has failed to do so. The test of such a decision is whether it has alleviated or aggravated the practical challenges it sought to remedy and lived realities it endeavoured to shape. Painfully though, we regret to observe that the ruling in Pramati Educational and Cultural Trust (supra) strikes at the heart of good quality universal elementary education and its consequences are far-reaching.