Nagpur: In a setback to Maharashtra govt, the Nagpur bench of Bombay high court on Monday stayed the 1-kilometre distance restriction imposed for admissions to schools under the Right to Education (RTE) quota. The HC observed that the condition appears inconsistent with the statutory scheme of the law.A division bench of Justices Anil Pansare and Nivedita Mehta issued notice to the Maharashtra govt and sought its response after PILs challenged the rule introduced through a govt resolution issued on February 12, 2026. Senior advocate Jayna Kothari, along with advocates Payal Gaikwad and Deepankar Kamble, represented the petitioners. The matter was posted for further hearing on March 10.
The PILs were filed by social activists Ashish Fulzele, Aniket Kuttarmare and Vaibhav Kamble from Nagpur, and Shankar Atram and Karishma Bangde from Chandrapur, who contended that the new rule imposed “unjust restrictions on children’s rights” and undermined the objective of the RTE Act. The petitioners pointed out that the 1-kilometre limit imposed through the state’s online admission portal restricted access to schools for children seeking admission under the 25% quota mandated by the Act.Under Section 12(1) (c) of the law, private unaided non-minority schools are required to reserve 25% of seats for children from economically weaker sections and disadvantaged groups.The petitioners contended that the Act does not prescribe any maximum distance limit for applying to schools. However, the state’s digital admission system currently allows parents to view only those schools located within 1-kilometre of their residence.They further alleged that the portal’s mapping system prevented parents from shifting the GPS marker beyond the 1-kilometre radius while registering their address. In addition, if parents did not accept the school allotted through the system, they were not provided another opportunity to select a different institution.During the hearing, the judges noted that the conditions imposed through the govt resolution prima facie appear inconsistent with the provisions of the RTE law and with constitutional guarantees under Article 14 of the Constitution of India, Article 21 of the Constitution of India and Article 21A of the Constitution of India.Pending further consideration of the case, the bench stayed the operation of the 1-kilometre restriction and directed the state authorities to make necessary changes to the online admission system so that the process can be conducted in accordance with the law.The court clarified that the admission procedure must comply with the statutory provisions governing the RTE scheme.
