Ishaat-E-Taleem Trust vs State of Maharashtra 2025 INSC 1063 - RTE Act - Minority Educational Institutions - Referred To Larger Bench

Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009- Section 23 - Teacher Eligibility Test- Obtaining the TET qualification under the RTE Act is mandatory – In-service teachers (irrespective of the length of their service) would also be required to qualify the TET to continue in service - The provisions of the RTE Act have to be complied with by all schools as defined in Section 2(n) of the RTE Act except the schools established and administered by the minority – whether religious or linguistic – till such time the reference is decided- Directions issued: Those teachers who have less than five years’ service left, as on date, may continue in service till they attain the age of superannuation without qualifying the TET. However, if any such teacher (having less than five years’ service left) aspires for promotion, he will not be considered eligible without he/she having qualified the TET- Insofar as in-service teachers recruited prior to enactment of the RTE Act and having more than 5 years to retire on superannuation are concerned, they shall be under an obligation to qualify the TET within 2 years from date in order to continue in service. If any of such teachers fail to qualify the TET within the time that we have allowed, they shall  have to quit service. They may be compulsorily retired; and paid whatever terminal benefits they are entitled to- To qualify for the terminal benefits, such teachers must have put in the qualifying period of service, in accordance with the rules. If any teacher has not put in the qualifying service and there is some deficiency, his/her case may be considered by the appropriate department in the Government upon a representation being made by him/her - Those aspiring for appointment and those in-service teachers aspiring for appointment by promotion must, however, qualify the TET; or else, they would have no right of consideration of their candidature. (Para 214)

Constitution of India - Article 30 - Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 -Section 12(1)(c) - Supreme Court doubts correctness of the Constitution Bench judgment in Pramati Educational and Cultural Trust exempting minority educational institutions, whether aided or unaided, falling under clause (1) of Article 30 of the Constitution, from the purview of the entirety of the RTE Act - Questions referred: Whether the RTE Act infringes the rights of minorities, religious or linguistic, guaranteed under Article 30(1) of the Constitution? And, assuming that Section 12(1)(c) of the RTE Act suffers from the vice of encroaching upon minority rights protected by Article 30 of the Constitution, whether Section 12(1)(c) should have been read down to include children of the particular minority community who also belong to weaker section and disadvantaged group in the neighbourhood, to save it from being declared ultra vires such minority rights?-What is the effect of non-consideration of Article 29(2) of the Constitution in the context of the declaration made in Pramati Educational and Cultural Trust (supra) that the RTE Act would not be applicable to aided minority educational institutions? - Whether, in the absence of any discussion in Pramati Educational and Cultural Trust (supra) regarding unconstitutionality of the other provisions of the RTE Act, except Section 12(1)(c), the entirety of the enactment should have been declared ultra vires minority rights protected by Article 30 of the Constitution? (Para 210)

Constitution of India - Article 30, 21A- Both Article 21A and Article 30(1) occupy high constitutional position and must be interpreted harmoniously by complementing each other. In our opinion, there is no inherent conflict between Article 21A and Article 30(1). O

Constitution of India - Article 21A- Article 21A, which guarantees the right to free and compulsory education for all children aged 6 to 14, inherently includes the right to universal elementary education—education that reaches every child, regardless of background. It also embraces the idea of a common schooling system, where children from diverse socio-economic and cultural groups learn together in shared spaces. (Para 99) Quality of teachers and teaching standards are integral to the fundamental right to education. (Para 156)

Constitution of India - Article 29, 30- Article 30(1) has never been construed as conferring blanket immunity on minority institutions from all forms of regulation - With respect to unaided minority institutions, the interpretation of Article 30 must be guided by its underlying purpose of preserving the cultural, linguistic, and educational identity of minority communities and promoting their welfare- The mere admission of a “sprinkling of outsiders” neither defeats the purpose of Article 30 nor does it dilute or alter the minority character of such institutions. (Para 143) Article 30(1), in the context of aided minority institutions, is subject to the mandate of Article 29(2), which expressly prohibits denial of admission to any citizen in institutions maintained by the State or receiving State aid, on grounds of religion, race, caste, language, or any of them - An educational institution maintained by the State or receiving aid out of State funds cannot deny admission on, inter alia, grounds of religion. (Para 141) The minority status of an institution must be grounded in a genuine commitment to serve its community, and not merely operate as a vehicle for evading constitutional duties. (Para 185)

Service Law - The term ‘appointment’ means not only initial appointment but also covers appointment by ‘promotion’, among others.  (Para 194) Appointment and recruitment are two distinct but not unrelated concepts. Recruitment is the broader process of which selection is a part that culminates in an appointment. Recruitment can be carried out from various sources, which are broadly classified into internal and external sources. Internal sources would comprise individuals who are already employed within the organization. This would include an appointment by promotion or transfer. External sources, on the other hand, consist of individuals who are not currently in the service of the recruiting organization. Direct recruitment is an appointment from external sources or from open market, so to say. (Para 196)

Precedents- Constitution of India - Article 141 - The law declared by the Supreme Court binds all courts which would include itself too- But SC 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. (Para 121) Two judges SC Bench can merely doubt the view expressed by a larger Bench; not differ and depart from such view of a larger Bench- IT cannot render findings different to what has been expressed therein and direct them to be treated as final. This would only create chaos by making the same binding on all in terms of Article 141 of the Constitution. (Para 207) 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.(Para 132)