Legal battle behind her, 8-yr-old with autism can now return to school. HC upheld her ‘right to belong'

The Print

23-07-2025

In a landmark judgment, the Delhi High Court Tuesday directed GD Goenka Public School in New Delhi's Model Town to re-admit the child into an age-appropriate class, reinforcing the legal mandate of inclusive education under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
'Expelling any child from school can be traumatic, and I was in a situation of uncertainty,' her mother told ThePrint Thursday, adding that the child did not get the attention she needed at school. After two years of legal proceedings and emotional turmoil, this week the child won the right to return to her former school where her sibling is also a student.
New Delhi: For more than two long years, the eight-year-old diagnosed with autism remained out of school, confused and isolated as her developmental progress stalled. Her parents first took her out of school temporarily, and later the school refused to take her back.
'Winning the case has brought a big sense of relief. However, there's still apprehension in my mind about whether the school will genuinely treat my child equally and provide the support she deserves,' the mother said.
Diagnosed with mild autism in infancy, the child was admitted to the school during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2021 under the 'sibling category' and studied online just like other children of her age for the next few months, according to her mother.
'Her milestones had been late. She started walking when she was 17 months old and she began sitting when she was nine months old. The doctors had then only told us that she was at the risk of autism,' the mother said.
Problems began when the lockdown came to an end and offline classes were resumed in schools.
According to the parents' petition in court, shared with ThePrint, the child began exhibiting behaviours associated with her condition, running around, screaming, and being unable to sit still, behaviours the school did not accommodate or address supportively. Despite repeated requests from her mother to allow a shadow teacher or provide a special educator, the school declined, says the petition.
The mother emphasised that autistic children are not 'mentally retarded' but have a 'different way of thinking'. With the right support, she said, autistic children can accomplish things and grow into exceptional leaders, scientists, entrepreneurs, and more.
'Giving them a nurturing environment is not a privilege, it's their right. Look at the lives of people like Einstein, Mozart, Greta Thunberg, or even Ramanujan, many of them displayed traits of neurodivergence,' she told ThePrint.
Speaking to ThePrint, Kamal Gupta, the advocate representing GD Goenka Public School in court, termed the institute as 'inclusive' and said all such schools have limitations. 'The child in question had 86 percent progressive autism, which is certified by AIIMS as a multiple disability disorder,' he said. Gupta added that the school is currently catering to the maximum number of children from the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and disability categories and does not have any more seats to accommodate more children.
'The provisions of the Persons with Disabilities Act have been interpreted by a division bench… (and) the right to be educated in a school of choice has to be interpreted meaningfully, depending upon the number of seats available (demand & supply),' he said, adding that it was in the 'best interest' of the child to study in a special school.
ThePrint reached GD Goenka Public School too with queries through email but had not received a response by the time of publication. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
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'Embrace inclusivity'
According to the mother, her child was being neglected at school.
'So, we decided to take her out of school temporarily without formally withdrawing her admission,' she said. 'The school had advised us to focus on therapy to help improve her condition. But when we returned after a year-long break to resume her studies at school, they refused to take her back.'
Instead, the administration allegedly pushed the family to withdraw the girl from school, claiming she was better suited for a school for children with special needs.
In October 2022, the school authorities, according to the petition, suggested that the child attend classes for only two hours a day or just two days a week.
In December 2022, the mother said, she wrote to the school complaining about an injury to the child. A meeting was subsequently scheduled between the school principal and the mother, during which she was shown letters of complaints from other parents but wasn't allowed to examine them closely, the petition states. This was followed by an ultimatum given to the parents by the school, asking them to withdraw the child, said the mother.
Adding, 'From January 2023, she didn't go to school.'
Faced with continuous denials from the school, the family moved the Delhi High Court, challenging what they described as 'illegal, arbitrary, and discriminatory' action by the school.
During the 2024-25 session, the child was allotted a seat at the school under the children with special needs category but later denied admission again, her mother said. After this, the parents approached the court seeking enforcement of their child's right to education.
'Parents should never give up fighting for their child's rights. The journey is hard, especially for children with special needs, but justice can prevail. Schools should work with parents, not against them, and truly embrace inclusivity, not just on paper but in practice,' the mother told ThePrint.
'It is about belongingness'
Justice Vikas Mahajan, delivering the verdict this week, underscored the constitutional and statutory guarantee of inclusive education. 'It needs no emphasis that 'inclusive education' is not merely about access to education; it is about belongingness,' the court stated.
'Every child has a place in the classroom not because they are the same, but because they are different, and that difference enriches the learning environment for all.'
In a significant move, the court directed the Directorate of Education to constitute a board to assess what would be in the child's best interest. The committee's report concluded that the child should continue in the same school with age-appropriate class placement and the support of a shadow teacher.
'The school must ensure that the child avails all the accommodations/adaptations a child with special needs is entitled for,' the committee advised.
Accepting the findings, the Delhi High Court has directed GD Goenka to re-admit the child with immediate effect. It also mandated that the Directorate of Education monitor the implementation of suggestions and ensure she is not harassed again.
'It is her constitutional right to study in an inclusive school system. And they (GD Goenka) have done wrong by denying it. And that's why we got directions to re-admit her,' her counsel Ashok Agarwal told ThePrint, adding that the school can put her in any appropriate class and the parents are willing to provide a shadow teacher. 'The court has recognised that she has the right to study in a mainstream school, and that denying her that right amounts to discrimination.'
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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