The Supreme Court on Monday asked AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh to approach the Allahabad High Court with his plea against the Uttar Pradesh Government’s order dated 16.06.2025, which directed the closure and merger of 105 government-run primary schools across the state.
Upon hearing MP Sanjay Singh’s Public Interest Litigation (PIL), a bench comprising Justice Deepankar Dutta and Justice A.G. Masih, after considering submissions by Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal appearing for Sanjay Singh, observed that the petition effectively seeks enforcement of statutory rights under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009. Accordingly, the Court directed the petitioner to move the Allahabad High Court, while instructing the High Court to hear and decide the matter expeditiously, given that the rights and interests of thousands of school children are at stake.
After the hearing, MP Sanjay Singh addressed the media outside the Supreme Court premises. Sharing the video of this interaction on X, in which he stated that due to the closure of schools in UP, the future of lakhs of children has been pushed into darkness. “A large number of children are unable to attend school and their education has been disrupted. Their fathers work as labourers, they belong to poor families in the villages. They do not have the money to send their children to private schools. We have fought this battle on the streets as well. We also raised this demand in the Parliament of the country,” he added.
Referring to the Supreme Court hearing, Sanjay Singh said, “Today, senior advocate Kapil Sibal argued on my petition in the Supreme Court and appealed to the Honourable Court that this issue is linked to the future of children and must be heard urgently. On this, the Supreme Court passed an order asking us to go to the High Court, and directed the High Court that since this matter concerns the education and future of thousands of children, it should be heard quickly and a decision should be delivered. We will now go to the Allahabad High Court and fight this battle there. I hope the children will get justice from the judiciary.”
Pointing out the contradictions, Sanjay Singh said, “In the Vidhan Sabha they said schools would not be closed. The Education Minister held a press conference and said that schools more than one kilometre away will not be shut down, schools across railways and highways will not be shut down. I can give you hundreds of examples of schools that are still closed. Even today children are facing great difficulties; they are unable to go to school. Because the schools have been shifted 2–3 kilometres away, across railway tracks and highways. I respect the Supreme Court’s order directing the High Court to hear the matter expeditiously and decide, because this is an issue concerning the future of lakhs of children in UP.”
Meanwhile, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Sanjay Singh argued, “These children can no longer go to the school. And most of them are poor.” After an exchange, Kapil Sibal asked for permission to withdraw the petition, with the option to approach the high court. He requested that the high court expedite the hearing, given the significant impact on the education of thousands of children.
The bench allowed the withdrawal and granted Sanjay Singh the liberty to move to the high court with that request
Background of the Case
On June 16, 2025, the Uttar Pradesh Government, through the Additional Chief Secretary of the Basic Education Department, issued an order pairing schools with low or nil enrolment with nearby institutions. Subsequently, on June 24, 2025, the Basic Shiksha Adhikari, Lucknow, released a list identifying 105 primary schools to be shut down or merged.
MP Sanjay Singh, who has long worked on education rights, challenged this order in the Supreme Court on the ground that it violates Article 21A of the Constitution and the RTE Act, 2009, which guarantee free and compulsory education for all children between 6–14 years in a neighbourhood school. The petition stressed that forcing children to travel beyond the 1 km statutory limit without transport or alternatives effectively denies them their fundamental right to education.
In his petition, Sanjay Singh has sought the following directions:
• Quashing and setting aside the Government Order dated 16.06.2025 and the consequential list dated 24.06.2025 identifying 105 schools for closure/merger.
• A declaration that the policy of pairing or merging schools beyond the 1 km neighbourhood limit without safeguards under Rule 4(2) of the UP RTE Rules, 2011, is unconstitutional, arbitrary, and violative of Article 21A.
• A direction to the Respondents to strictly comply with the RTE Act, 2009, and the UP RTE Rules, 2011, particularly regarding neighbourhood schools.
• Orders to forthwith restore the functioning of merged/paired schools and ensure the continued operation of neighbourhood schools for all affected children.
Interim reliefs including:
• A stay on implementation of the 16.06.2025 and 24.06.2025 orders during the pendency of proceedings.
• A direction to the State to refrain from coercive action leading to closure/merger of any school under the impugned policy.
• A direction to the Respondents to place before the Court all relevant records and data used to justify the pairing policy, including enrolment figures, infrastructure assessments, and consultation minutes.
• Any such other orders as deemed fit to protect the fundamental rights of children.
In his petition, MP Sanjay Singh has argued that the UP government’s action is “arbitrary, unconstitutional, and legally impermissible” and that it has “already adversely impacted the educational access of numerous children across the State”. The petition underscores that “any policy or executive action that contravenes the constitutional and statutory mandate of neighbourhood schooling is prima facie unconstitutional and ultra vires.”
The plea further read that the decision violates the constitutional and statutory rights of children under Article 21A of the Constitution and the RTE Act. Specifically, Rule 4(1)(a) of the RTE Rules requires the establishment of primary schools for Classes I to V within a one-kilometre radius of every habitation having a population of at least 300.
“Children in the age group of 6 to 11 years, particularly those belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, minority communities, and girls—are the most adversely affected,” said Sanjay Singh in his plea.
“Many parents have withdrawn their wards from schools due to safety concerns and logistical impossibilities, resulting in de facto denial of access to schools, and pushing children back into labour or ‘domestic work’,” the plea read.
“The Respondents (UP government) have sought to justify the pairing decision on grounds of policy restructuring and alignment with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, pointing to schools with negligible student strength. However, the impugned action has the effect of denying children access to education within the statutory neighborhood limits and fails to make alternative arrangements as per the mandatory requirements under the Rules. The closure or merger of a school, once established under Section 6 read with Rule 4(1)(a), cannot be undertaken on the basis of an executive instruction lacking legislative authority,” stated the plea.
“The Petitioner (Sanjay Singh) submits that such executive action is ultra vires the statute and violative Constitution, which prohibits the State from taking actions that infringe fundamental rights,” as averred in the petition.
Sanjay Singh further stated in the petition, “The executive decision was taken without public consultation and without adherence to the statutory role of the School Management Committees as required under the RTE Act.”
