MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Thursday observed that elementary education is every child’s fundamental right and the state is obliged to ensure that children are admitted to school and complete their elementary education.HC grants relief to 6-year-old denied RTE admission over lack of rent agreementGranting relief to a six-year-old Scheduled caste (SC) student who was denied admission to class 1 under the Right to Education (RTE) quota over non-submission of a registered leave-and-licence agreement, a division bench of justices RI Chagla and Farhan P Dubash said it “cannot be a silent spectator to the act of the education officer to deny admission to the child in the school”.The court directed the authorities to process the child’s application for admission, subject to the outcome of the petition, and asked the state government and the education department to submit their replies within four weeks.The court was hearing a petition filed by the child through his father, challenging the rejection of his application for admission to class 1 under the 25% quota for SC students under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009.The plea was moved on Thursday, seeking urgent relief since the last date for submission of admission applications was June 12. The child’s father, residing on rent at Airoli in Navi Mumbai for the past 12 years, had submitted documents relating to his gas connection, passport and savings bank account, reflecting the same rental address, the plea said. The child’s application for admission was initially accepted and a provisional allotment letter was issued on May 15. But on May 28, another letter was issued saying the application had been rejected as the leave and license agreement submitted as address proof was not registered.According to the petition, the father immediately informed the authorities that he had been unaware of the requirement when the admission application was filed, and he had executed and registered a fresh leave and license agreement on May 20 for the same address. He also submitted other supporting documents and requested the authorities to favourably reconsider his child’s admission application.The court examined the relevant records, and said the documents showed the family had been staying in Airoli at least since 2021. The school authorities should not have rejected the child’s admission solely on the ground of failure to submit a registered leave and license agreement as proof of their residence, the court said.“The petitioner is a six-year-old child belonging to the Scheduled Caste category. Through the writ petition, he seeks enforcement of his fundamental right under the Constitution of India, which guarantees free and compulsory education to every child between the ages of 6 years and 14 years, the statutory framework of which is implemented through the said Right to Education Act,” the division bench said.The court rejected the communication dated May 28 which denied admission to the six-year-old child and directed the authorities to process the child’s application for admission subject to the outcome of the petition. It granted the state and the education authorities four weeks to submit their replies and posted the matter for further hearing on July 30.