The Delhi High Court has issued a ruling asserting that the central government, which oversees the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS), is the appropriate authority for determining the annual income threshold to ascertain a child's eligibility under the economically weaker section (EWS). The court emphasized that the KVS cannot reject admission to a student in the EWS category simply because the income certificate was obtained from a state other than Delhi.
Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani highlighted that the central government has specified that the income certificate should be issued by an officer not below the rank of tehsildar in the respective state, following due process and thorough verification of relevant documents. This means that for admission to a KV school nationwide under the EWS category, the certificate need not be from the state where the school is located but must be issued by a qualified officer in the state where verification is feasible.
The court noted that the central government has set the gross annual family income threshold for the EWS category at below Rs 8 lakh. The rejection of the petitioner's ward for admission on the grounds that the EWS certificate was from Uttar Pradesh and not Delhi was deemed untenable by the high court.
In response to the petitioner's plea, the court directed KVS (Delhi region) to grant admission to his son in a Kendriya Vidyalaya in Delhi under the EWS category. The court quashed the January 3, 2022, communication from authorities denying admission. Due to the time lost during the litigation, the court ordered the admission to class 3 for the academic session 2023-2024.
The petitioner, originally from Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, had initially sought admission for his son in class 1 under the EWS category, having moved to Delhi for employment. The EWS certificate was issued by a tehsildar in Azamgarh. The court rejected KVS's argument of "glaring" irregularities in the application, emphasizing that the petitioner's ward should be granted regular admission to Kendriya Vidyalaya, Narela.
