Presence of Both The Parents At The Time of Admission Not Mandatory: Delhi HC

Delhi High Court rejects a plea challenging a Circular dated 20/05/2019 issued by the Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE) purporting the presence of both parents at the time seeking admission in school.

The petitioner had submitted that the Circular makes it mandatory for both parents to be physically present at the time of admission of the ward and the collection of the marksheet. The parents are also supposed to sign an undertaking attesting the documents while seeking an enrollment of their ward. The same was challenged for being unreasonable as it doesn't take into consideration situations where it would be really difficult for parents to be physically present in the school; for instance, medical emergency or employment abroad.

Counsel for the CBSE submitted that the Petitioner has misconstrued the Circular. The guidelines on the Circular doesn't mandate presence of both the parents; presence of one of them would also suffice. Further, it was also pointed out that exemptions have already been granted in 727 cases on grounds of medical emergency or employment.

The Division Bench of Justice DN Patel and Justice Hari Shankar rejected the plea by terming it as 'Private Interest Litigation'. The court took into account the submissions made by the Respondents and dismissed the plea by citing misinterpretation of the Circular by the Petitioner. 'The guidelines were put out to check the increasing number of applications for modifications in certificates and marksheets issued for board examinations', the court noted.