The Delhi High Court on Tuesday refused to consider a plea requesting that the Delhi government provide school admissions for children of Rohingya refugees who had migrated from Myanmar to India.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela disposed of the public interest litigation (PIL) petition, advising that the Union Ministry of Home Affairs could be approached regarding this matter.
“We are not going to get involved in this ... The first point of call cannot be High Court, first approach the government ... What you cannot do directly, you cannot do indirectly. Court should not be a medium in this," the Court orally observed.
The PIL, filed by the civil rights group Social Jurist, highlighted the denial of school admissions to Rohingya refugee children, reportedly due to their lack of an Aadhaar card and bank account, with only a refugee card issued by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to identify them.
The petition further noted that even those Rohingya students who managed to gain admission to government schools encountered challenges, as the Delhi government denied them statutory benefits like school uniforms and writing materials due to their families not having a bank account. The NGO argued that this situation infringes on the fundamental right to education for these children.
These issues came to light after Advocate Ashok Agarwal visited a refugee colony in New Delhi and were also raised in a written representation to the Delhi government. However, after receiving no response to the representation, the PIL was filed in the High Court.
Through this petition, the NGO sought to compel the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the Education Department of Delhi to implement corrective measures. Nevertheless, the Court declined to issue any directives on this matter today.
Advocate Ashok Agarwal appeared for Social Jurist. The petition was filed through advocates Agarwal and Kumar Utkarsh.
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