Delhi High Court says circulars on EWS quota admissions must be issued in Hindi also

The Delhi High Court recently ordered the Directorate of Education (DoE) of Delhi to ensure that all circulars and notices pertaining to admissions in educational institutions for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category are issued in Hindi also [Master Harmanpreet Singh through Mr. Paramjeet Singh vs. Directorate of Education]..Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma observed that those belonging to the economically weaker section may not be well-versed in English and that the issuance of these circulars only in English creates language barriers."It is necessary that the notices/circulars issued by the Directorate of Education should not be restricted to the English language alone which are meant for admissions under EWS category, specifically those which lay down the guidelines and the mandatory documents etc. which are required to be uploaded by the parents of such candidates, since this leads to significant barriers in communication and compliance by those for whom these circulars are meant for. This sentiment has been expressed by many parents in multiple cases before this Court," the Court said. .The Court passed the order on a plea seeking the admission of a child to a kindergarten school under the EWS quota. The Court dismissed the petition after noting that the parents had not furnished a valid income certificate before the admission process began, as required under circulars on EWS quota admission guidelines. The parents submitted that they did not have a valid certificate before the admission process began as they were unaware that the income certificate issued to them earlier had expired.Since the parents did not fulfil the mandatory requirement of submitting a valid income certificate before the start of the admissions process, the Court held that the school was within its right to reject the school admission application. The Court, however, took cognizance of the language barrier created by the DoE’s English circulars for parents seeking admission under the EWS quota.“This Court observes that the parents involved in this case belong to the economically weaker section and are not well-educated as in many other cases. They are often unaware of the specific requirements mandated by the DoE regarding the validity of an income certificate and the importance of uploading and producing valid income certificate as on the date of applying for such admission. The situation is exacerbated by their limited understanding of the English language and lack of awareness about this strict mandate regarding validity of income certificate," the Court said. .To address such barriers, the Court issued the following directions so that these circulars are also issued in Hindi. - It is necessary that such notices are also issued in Hindi, which is widely spoken and understood by a large segment of the population. This dual-language approach will help to prevent future instances of non-compliance due to language barriers and ensure that the rights and opportunities available under the law are accessible to all citizens, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.- DoE will ensure that information regarding the validity of the income certificate and other documents required and to be furnished by the parents applying for admission under EWS category is publicised. They will also upload information regarding documents required for admission under EWS category in Hindi for the general public of Delhi.- DoE may upload a video which explains the process of applying for admission under the EWS category, which should also incorporate the mandate of filing a valid income certificate and as to what a valid income certificate means, as well as the other documents required which are to be filed by the candidate/applicant. Such videos should be prepared with a dual-linguistic approach, that is, both in Hindi and English and any other Indian language..Advocates Swathi Sukumar, Naveen Nagarjuna, Rishubh Agarwal and Ritik Raghuwanshi appeared for the petitioner.Additional Standing Counsel Karn Bhardwaj and advocates. Shubham Singh, Rajat Gaba and Saurabh Dahiya appeared for the DoE. Advocates Kamal Gupta, Tripti Gupta, Sparsh Aggarwal, Karan Chaudhary and Yosha Dutt appeared for the school..[Read Order]