Supreme Court Seeks School Education Secretary's Reply on Contempt Plea
The Supreme Court has sought a response from School Education Secretary T.K. Anil Kumar on a contempt plea alleging non-compliance with its May 11 order.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought a response from the Secretary of the Department of School Education and Literacy in the Ministry of Education on a contempt petition alleging non-compliance with an earlier direction. A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu issued notice to T.K. Anil Kumar and granted four weeks for a reply.
The contempt plea was filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, who contended that the Secretary had not acted on a representation he submitted. On May 11, the court had directed Mr. Upadhyay to place his grievances before the Union of India through such a representation.
The underlying petition, filed through advocate Ashwani Dubey, seeks directions for the registration, recognition, supervision and monitoring of all institutions imparting secular education or religious instruction to children up to the age of 14. It invokes the spirit of Article 21A, read with Articles 39(f), 45 and 51-A(k) of the Constitution.
The plea argues that Article 30 does not confer any special or additional rights on minorities beyond those already guaranteed under Article 19(1)(g), which protects the right to practise any profession, occupation, trade or business. It asks the court to declare that Article 30 is a specific reiteration of Article 19(1)(g) and grants no further benefits or privileges.
Describing children as the backbone of the nation's growth and as vulnerable because of their tender age, the petition contends that the State bears a heightened responsibility towards them. It characterises the issue as one of national security, warning that young children can be brainwashed or manipulated in unregistered institutions.
Mr. Upadhyay has stated in the plea that he visited several districts along the Uttar Pradesh border, where he found numerous unregistered and unrecognised institutions operating. He alleged that such institutions are proliferating across the country's border areas without any effective oversight or regulatory mechanism.