SC asks Sanskriti School not to restrict 60 per cent quota

New Delhi: Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Sanskriti School to admit wards of all central government employees with transferrable jobs for the upcoming academic year within the 60 per cent quota, as an interim measure.

Asking the prestigious school not to restrict the quota only to children of the top-most bureaucrats, a three-judge bench headed by Justice A R Dave, in an interim order, also stayed implementation of a Delhi High Court's order quashing the quota, so far meant only for the kids of Group-A officers.

The bench, also comprising justices C Nagappan and A K Goel, clarified that it was not taking into consideration at present, the notification issued by Delhi government quashing the management quota in all schools in the national capital.

The apex court admitted the appeals filed by Sanskriti School and the Centre against the Delhi High Court judgement.

The bench also took note of the submission that Sanskriti School and the Centre should clearly come out with a scheme to categorise seats when the appeals would be taken up for hearing on April 6.

The court gave six weeks to the respondents to file their response to the challenge posed by the school and the Centre to the high court's judgement.

The Centre and school administration have assailed in the apex court the high court's decision to set aside the 60 per cent quota for wards of group-A officials who are in the highest class of government servants.

They have also sought an interim order allowing the institution to continue with the admission process under the old scheme till the matter is finally decided.

Now the court will decide as to whether the society running the school, can be held as state or its instrumentality under the Constitution and hence, amenable to the writ jurisdiction of the apex court and the high court.

Earlier, the Government had told the apex court that wards of government employees, other than group-A central government officials, can also be provided admission under 60 per cent quota earlier meant only for kids of this section in Sanskriti School.

While setting aside the 60 per cent quota in Sanskriti School, the high court in its November 6 last year judgement had said it was "akin to the erstwhile segregation of white and black students in the US and violated constitutional provisions of equality and right to education".

The apex court had on December 15 last year agreed to hear the plea challenging the Delhi High Court decision. 60 per cent seats in the school are reserved for children

of Group-A officers, 25 per cent for those from economically weaker sections, 10 per cent for wards of rest of the society and 5 per cent for its own staff.

The high court in its judgement had also observed that various expert commissions have said that the current school system in India and abroad promoted and maintained a wide chasm between the advantaged and disadvantaged.

The high court had taken suo motu cognizance of the issue in 2006 after reports that the school was charging "nearly 40 per cent less fee from the children of Group-A officers of the Union Government vis-a-vis other children".