Pune: Bombay HC Says Father’s Caste Certificate Not Mandatory For RTE Admission, Major Relief For Single Mothers
Pune: Bombay HC Says Father’s Caste Certificate Not Mandatory For RTE Admission, Major Relief For Single Mothers
Mumbai, July 25, 2026: In a significant ruling reinforcing the rights of single-parent families, the Bombay High Court has held that a child cannot be denied admission under the Right to Education (RTE) Act solely because the deceased father’s caste certificate is unavailable, provided the mother, who is the sole surviving parent, has a valid caste certificate and sufficient supporting evidence.
Justice N. J. Jamadar passed the order while hearing a petition filed by Ranjana Yogesh Jadhav a Pune-based single mother, whose daughter Arohee Yogesh Jadhav was denied admission to Aditya English Medium School under the RTE quota. Education authorities had rejected the application on the ground that the child’s late father’s caste certificate was not submitted.
According to the petitioner, both she and her late husband belonged to the Dhangar community, which is recognised as a Nomadic Tribe in Maharashtra. While Ranjana possessed a valid caste certificate, her husband passed away in December 2021 before obtaining one. She submitted his school leaving certificate, which recorded his caste as Dhangar, along with her own caste certificate. However, the Taluka Level Scrutiny Committee and education authorities refused to accept the documents and rejected the admission request.
The High Court observed that the authorities had adopted an overly technical approach, ignoring the practical realities faced by a single-parent family. The Court noted that such procedural rigidity should not deprive a child of the constitutional right to free and compulsory education.
Justice Jamadar held that insisting on recognition of a child’s caste solely through the father’s certificate in every case is legally unsustainable. Referring to earlier Supreme Court judgments, the Court observed that in appropriate circumstances, particularly where the mother is the child’s natural guardian and the child shares her social background, the mother’s caste can be relied upon for determining eligibility.
The Court also noted that the authorities overlooked material evidence, including the authenticated school leaving certificate of the deceased father, which clearly mentioned his caste. During the proceedings, the Court directed verification of the document, and the concerned school confirmed its authenticity.
Describing the authorities’ approach as “myopic and constricted,” the Court ruled that procedural requirements should not override a child’s constitutional rights.
Allowing the writ petition, the High Court quashed the orders passed by the Deputy Director (Education) and the Education Officer that had upheld the rejection of the child’s admission. It directed the concerned authorities to grant Arohee admission under the RTE quota without insisting on her deceased father’s caste certificate and complete the admission process by July 31, 2026.
The case, Ranjana Yogesh Jadhav v. Principal Secretary, School Education Department & Others, was decided on July 22, 2026, and is expected to serve as an important precedent for similar cases involving single-parent families seeking benefits under the Right to Education Act.
