MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court has stayed notices issued by several zilla parishads compelling students of special schools for the physically disabled to be transferred to regular schools.
A division bench of justices Ravindra Ghuge and Abhay Mantri passed the order last week after hearing a petition filed by Namdevrao Mohol Vidya and Krida Pratishthan, an educational trust in Pune that runs one such special school, challenging a notice issued to it by the local zilla parishad.
The notice was issued following a directive from Maharashtra’s Divyang Welfare Department in February based on the inclusive education provision under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. HT had reported on the concerns raised by parents, teachers, and schools regarding the directive, fearing that many students may struggle to cope without specialised support.
On April 2, when the petition came up for hearing, the Pune-based trust’s counsel, advocate Dr Uday Warujikar, informed the high court that zilla parishads had issued notices directing the transfer of physically disabled students, especially those with locomotor disabilities, from well-equipped special schools to regular schools. Warunjikar said this was purportedly being done after the state government introduced a policy regarding universal accessibility for differently abled students to bring them into the mainstream.
Disapproving of the action, the bench said, “Such orders, without a proper roadmap and implementation of a proper policy, are likely to be counter-productive.” It added that the authorities cannot force parents to move their differently abled children to regular schools.
“There cannot be a compulsion of uprooting students from such special schools and transplanting them/relocating them to general schools. The will and desire of the biological/natural guardians also has to be taken into account,” the bench said, while staying the notices.
The trust also expressed apprehension about the discontinuation of the licence of its special school, the Kakasaheb Bamre Niwasi Apang Kalyan Kendra. The bench ordered the state government not to pass any such adverse orders.
The government pleader assured the court that the licence of the trust’s school will be renewed shortly. The bench then directed the state to also renew the licences of all such special schools whose applications are pending by April 15.
The court also directed the state government to file an affidavit in reply to the petition, and posted the matter for further hearing on June 17.
