New Delhi, August 18, 2025 

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed as withdrawn a writ petition filed by AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, who had challenged the Uttar Pradesh Government’s decision to shut down 105 government-run primary schools across the state.

 

A division bench of Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice A.G. Masih refused to entertain the petition under Article 32 of the Constitution, noting that challenges to the same decision were already pending before the Allahabad High Court.

 

On June 16, 2025, followed by a confirming order on June 24, the Uttar Pradesh Government announced the closure of 105 schools, citing zero or negligible enrollments. The government explained that such schools would be “paired” with nearby functioning schools, in line with restructuring and rationalization efforts under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

 

In his plea, Singh described the government’s action as “arbitrary, unconstitutional, and legally impermissible”, alleging that it severely undermines children’s fundamental right to education guaranteed under Article 21A of the Constitution and the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (RTE Act).

 

The petition emphasized:

• Violation of statutory neighborhood school norms: Rule 4(1)(a) of the RTE Rules requires establishment of a primary school within one kilometre of any habitation with at least 300 residents. Closure without ensuring such access, it argued, deprives children of their statutory rights.

• Adverse impact on vulnerable children: Students aged 6–11 years, particularly from SC, ST, minority communities, and girls, face disproportionate hardship. Parents, citing safety and logistical concerns, were withdrawing children, leading to a de facto denial of education and pushing them towards child labour or domestic work.

• Ultra vires executive action: The decision, Singh argued, amounted to an executive order without legislative backing. Once a school is established under Section 6 of the RTE Act, it cannot be closed or merged without proper authority under law.

• Lack of public consultation: The petition further claimed that the decision was taken without engaging School Management Committees (SMCs), whose statutory role under the RTE Act was bypassed.

 

The State defended its decision by citing low student strength and policy alignment with NEP 2020. It argued that consolidating under-enrolled schools improves resource utilization and ensures better quality of education.

 

Hearing the matter, the Supreme Court bench noted that petitions raising identical issues are already under consideration before the Allahabad High Court. In view of this, the apex court declined to intervene and permitted Singh to withdraw his petition.