The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court on Wednesday issued notices to the Maharashtra government and other respondents regarding a petition challenging the state's revised distance-based lottery system for admissions under the Right to Education (RTE) Act quota.
Court Hearing and Petition Details
A division bench comprising Justices Anil Kilor and Raj Wakode was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by social activists Ashish Fulzele, Aniket Kuttarmare, and Vaibhav Kamble. The petition questions the legality of the state government's April 6, 2026 order that introduced a phased lottery system for admissions to the 25% reserved seats in private schools under the RTE Act. Advocates Payal Gaikwad, Bodhi Ramteke, Deepak Chatap, Sithara Sarangana, Hrishikesh Bhoyar, and Vikrant Pandey represented the petitioners.
Distance-Based Classification Challenged
According to the petition, students are now grouped based on their residential distance from schools: 0 to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 5 km, and beyond 5 km. The petitioners contend that such classification creates an unequal admission process and discriminates against eligible children living farther away from schools. The court directed the respondents to file their replies within four weeks.
Arguments Against the Revised System
The petitioners argued that the revised system undermines the principle of equal opportunity by granting first preference to students residing within one kilometre of a school. They claimed that if all seats are filled in the initial phase, eligible students from distant areas may be denied admission solely because of the distance criterion.
The plea further pointed out that the high court had earlier struck down a similar distance restriction in RTE admissions, observing that students from disadvantaged sections could not be denied access to schools located beyond one kilometre from their residence. Following that ruling, the state government had withdrawn the mandatory distance condition, the petition stated.
Prayer for Uniform Lottery Process
The petitioners have sought directions to implement a uniform lottery process for all eligible applicants irrespective of distance and to declare the phased distance-based admission system illegal and unconstitutional.
