New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed all states to survey orphaned children who were denied education under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009.
A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and K V Viswanathan further asked the Centre to consider including data of such children in the upcoming census, scheduled to be carried out in 2027.
The apex court was hearing a plea raising concerns for orphans in need of care and protection.
The bench further directed the states to survey orphaned children who had been granted admission in schools under the provisions of the 2009 Act.
The petitioner said schemes of the Centre and the state governments for protection and care of orphans were inadequate, requiring consideration.
"States to make a survey of the orphan children who have already been granted admission under the provisions of the Act as well as a survey of the children who have been denied such right to free and compulsory education under the Act and if so, for what reasons," the top court said.
The states would have to return with their respective affidavits.
With the survey and data collection going on, the bench asked for simultaneous efforts to ensure deserving children got admissions in neighbourhood schools.
The bench granted four weeks to the authorities to comply with the directions.
It came on record that several states, including Gujarat, Delhi, Meghalaya and Sikkim, had already issued notifications to include orphaned children within the 25 per cent quota for those belonging to weaker sections and disadvantaged groups as prescribed in Section 12 (1) (c) of the law.
The intent of the states on which quota to use for accommodating orphans is a matter which will be up for further debate. That is, it will have to be clarified whether this will be from the quota of SC/ST and OBC or Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), the latter being the category where orphans normally should belong.
Section 12 deals with extent of school's responsibility for free and compulsory education.
The bench said other states might also consider issuing similar notification and file a related affidavit on record.
It posted the matter for September 9.
During the hearing, the petitioner sought directions to the Centre to consider having a data of orphans in the upcoming census.
"There must be a box with regard to orphans also," the bench told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who was appearing in some other matter.
The bench said then the government would automatically get the data of orphan children.
"It should be. I would take it up because orphans are our responsibility," Mehta said.
When the petitioner said the Centre should be asked to file a detailed affidavit on the aspects raised in the plea, the bench said it would consider all the issues.
The bench observed there were Juvenile Justice Committee in all high courts and national consultations were also being held on these issues.
"So it is not as bad as it was," the bench said, "positive things are also happening".
The petitioner contended that India gives a lot of support and lot of opportunities to children of weaker sections such as scholarships, reservations, jobs, loans, etc., but there was nothing for orphans.
She said UNICEF estimates 25 million orphans in India.
"We as a country don't even have an official number of orphans. We are right now doing a historic caste census and in that we are not counting orphans," the petitioner said.
India's 16th Census with caste enumeration will be carried out in 2027 with the reference date of October 1, 2026 in snow-bound areas like Ladakh and of March 1, 2027 in the rest of the country.
The apex court had on July 2018 agreed to examine the plea seeking reservation in educational institutions and government jobs for orphans, who have no linkage in society, on par with those belonging to the SC/ST and OBC category.
(Inputs from PTI)