Punjab & Haryana High Court Seeks State’s Reply on PIL for CBI Probe into Private Schools’ EWS Seat Exemption

The Court has directed the Punjab government to respond by September 22 to a PIL filed by KS Raju Legal Trust, demanding a CBI probe into alleged state collusion that exempted private schools from reserving seats for weaker sections in violation of the  RTE Act, 2009.

The PIL targets Rule 7(4) of the Punjab RTE Rules, 2011, claiming it imposed an unconstitutional barrier on EWS children, enabling private schools to bypass the 25% reservation mandate for 15 years.

Earlier, on February 19, 2025, the Court ordered all private unaided schools to reserve 25% of Class 1 seats for EWS students and mandated state enforcement from the 2025–26 academic session.