No coercive step against students for not giving voter ID details: HC to AAP govt

The Delhi High Court Monday directed the AAP government not to take any coercive steps such as suspension or rustication against the students of the city schools for not providing self-attested copies of voter ID cards and mobile phone numbers of their own and that of the family members.

A bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and A S Bhambani made it clear that no student would be forced to provide the details asked for by the Delhi government's Directorate of Education (DoE) through an October 8 circular, which has been challenged in the court in a public interest litigation (PIL).

Issuing notice to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government and the DoE, seeking their stand in the matter, the court made it clear that the information sought under the circular should not be used to deny admission on the basis of the neighbourhood criterion.

The bench said "enforcing the neighbourhood area" criterion by this method would be "unacceptable".

It directed the Delhi government and the DoE to indicate in their affidavit why the information was required and listed the plea, moved by the Government School Teachers' Association, for further hearing on December 18.

In the petition, filed through advocate Kamlesh Kumar Mishra, the association has contended that there is no rationale for seeking the information from the students under the circular.

Mishra said the DoE should give reasons behind asking for the information.

The October 8 circular was issued a week after the high court had told the DoE not to make it mandatory for students to give Aadhaar and voter ID details of their own as well as of their family.

The direction had come on a PIL moved by the association challenging a September 11 DoE circular calling for Aadhaar and voter ID details of the students of all the city schools as well as their siblings and parents.

After the DoE assured that the submission of the details would be optional, the court had disposed of the plea against the September 11 circular.

Subsequently, the DoE came out with the October 8 circular.