The Supreme Court has instructed all state governments to issue official notifications to include orphans, along with children from economically weaker and disadvantaged backgrounds, under the 25% reservation for free education in private schools as per the Right to Education (RTE) Act.

This directive came during the hearing of a petition filed by Paulomi Pavini Shukla. A bench comprising Justices BV Nagarathna and KV Vishwanathan noted that states such as Delhi, Gujarat, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, and Sikkim have already issued such notifications, bringing orphans under the scope of Section 12(1)(c) of the RTE Act. The court has now asked all remaining states to issue similar notifications within four weeks and update the court on their compliance.

The bench has also directed all states to carry out a comprehensive survey to determine the number of orphan children currently enrolled in schools and those who have been denied admission. It stressed that reasons for any denial must be documented, and efforts must be made to facilitate the enrollment of all eligible orphan children.

The court was hearing a plea that called for structured data collection, reservation, and equal education opportunities for orphans across the country. The bench also pointed out the lack of official data on orphans in India, calling it a reflection of the country’s negligence towards vulnerable sections of society.

Petitioner Paulomi Pavini Shukla argued that the Indian government does not maintain any formal count of orphaned children. Instead, the only available figures are from non-governmental organisations and international bodies such as UNICEF, which estimate the orphan population in India to be around 2.96 crore (29.6 million).