- (1.) This order will dispose of C.W.P. Nos. 2104, 2343,2349,2374 and 2397 of 2011. It is with some anguish that this Court proceeds to decide the matter which effects the small children who, before seeing the face of the class-room, are seeing the face of the court room and have invoked the jurisdiction of this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India albeit (through their parents), even before they have learnt the first alphabet.
(2.) The process of initiation into education should have been a solemn and a joyous affair for those involved, rather it has assumed the colour of a cattle fair or a flea market.
(3.) The facts of the case are that the wards of the Petitioners were in the age group of 3 years and plus and are eligible to seek admission in schools in a C.W.P. No. 2104 of 2011 -3 class which is described as Pre-Nursery. According to the existing criteria adopted by the schools, a child of 3+ years, is eligible for Pre-Nursery and a child of 5+ is eligible for seeking admission in Class-I. Anneuxre P-2 is the letter written by the District Education Officer, Chandigarh Administration to the Heads of all Government/Government-aided recognized schools in U.T. Chandigarh specifically mentioning that the minimum age to be eligible to get admission to Class I is 5+ years and for Pre-Nursery it is 3+ years. Upon some querries having been made, the District education Officer clarified that the existing age criteria of 3 years for Pre-Nursery and 5 years for Class I respectively on the Ist April of the academic year will enure. This was followed by another letter dated 18.1.2011 apparently on some further querries made by the four private schools of the U.T. namely Sacred Heart School, Sector 26, Carmel Convent School, Sector 9, St. John School, Sector 26, and St. Anne School, Sector 32, Chandigarh in which it was stated that "in view of the various representations made by various parents expressing difficulty in admission of their wards, you may continue with the criteria followed by you in the past. It is for your necessary action.";