The Delhi High Court has ruled that the government controlling the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) is responsible for officially declaring the annual income threshold to determine whether a child qualifies as economically weaker section (EWS). The court emphasized that the KVS cannot refuse admission to a student under the EWS category solely because the income certificate is from a state other than Delhi.
Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani stated that the central government has specified that the certificate should be issued by an officer of rank not lower than tehsildar in the state, following a thorough verification of all relevant documents and adherence to the due process outlined by the respective state governments.
The high court stated that this means a candidate seeking admission to a KV school nationwide under the EWS category is not obligated to provide a certificate issued by the state government where the school is located. Instead, the required certificate must be submitted by an officer of the designated rank in the state where the verification can be conducted.It further mentioned that the central government has officially communicated that the gross annual family income threshold for establishing eligibility in the EWS category is set at less than Rs 8 lakh.
The Delhi High Court declared that it is untenable, KVS rejected the petitioner’s child for admission on the basis of the EW certificate that was acquired from the State of Uttar Pradesh rather than the Government of NCT Delhi. Further, the court granted a petition filed by a man, directing KVS (Delhi region) to permit admission to his son in a Kendriya Vidyalaya in the national capital under the EWS category and nullifying the communication issued by the authorities on January 3, 2022, denying admission.
The petitioner from Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, initially applied for his son’s admission in class 1 under the EWS category. After relocating to Delhi for employment and due to the substantial time lost in legal proceedings, the court directed admission to class 3 for his son. The EWS certificate, obtained from a tehsildar in Azamgarh, was presented by the petitioner. The counsel for KVS argued that the petitioner’s son was not only denied admission based on the submission of an income certificate or EWS certificate from Uttar Pradesh but also due to other apparent irregularities in the application.
While granting the petition, the court stated that the petitioner’s child was refused admission despite the initial allotment for the academic session 2021-2022 in Class I, it is deemed fitting to shape the requested remedy in this petition. The court directed KVS to provide regular admission to the petitioner’s child in Kendriya Vidyalaya, Narela, for the academic session 2023-2024 immediately, in class 3.
