Right to Education example of affirmative action that transformed lives: Ex-CJI U U Lalit

New Delhi, Nov 15 (PTI) Former Chief Justice of India U U Lalit on Saturday said the Right to Education, which has become a fundamental right, is an example of affirmative action that transformed the lives of citizens.

Speaking at an event marking the release of the 100th episode of Rajya Sabha MP and senior advocate Kapil Sibal's online show 'Dil Se With Kapil Sibal', the former CJI commended Right to Education for its inclusive character.

"When we gained Independence, less than 18 per cent of the people of the country were literate. So the rate of literacy, which was just about 18 per cent, today stands ... at least 80 per cent; and this began with the Constitution," he said.

Lalit said the framers of the Constitution had two ideas: the first being the State, to the best of its ability within its economic capacity, was to extend to every citizen opportunities for improving education, and another was that the State shall endeavour to extend free and compulsory education to children below the age of 14 years.

In the Mohini Jain versus State of Karnataka case of 1992, that dealt with high capitation fees of a private medical institute, the top court held that right to education was an essential aspect of fundamental rights, he said.

Following this, the government introduced a bill in 1997 to make education a fundamental right of citizens till they attained the age of 14, the former CJI said.

"This, to my mind, is the solitary example where the judicature and the legislature played their role together. Otherwise, right from the First Amendment of the Constitution, there has always been a tussle between them," he added.

Lalit said the new government that assumed office in 1999 inserted Article 21A in the Constitution in 2002, making Right to Education a fundamental right for children in the age group of six to 14 years.

The Article said that every child in the age group of 6-14 would have the right to have complete and compulsory education in the manner determined by Parliament, he said. "Now that determination by Parliament comes only in 2009 by way of what is called the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act." He said the Act was significant, having far-reaching consequences as it now included within its ambit private institutions and envisaged "an inclusive definition of education." The former CJI said that after the Supreme Court's verdict of 1992, which was upheld by a larger bench in 1993, people benefited from the "affirmative action". "And that is why, according to me... it is singularly the most impactful decision by the Supreme Court." "We keep hearing criticism that judges indulge in activism. Then this activism is at the highest level, where by interpretative process, you are now saying that hundreds of crores of the population are entitled to affirmative action, and yet there is not a single demur from any establishment," the former CJI said.

Sibal, in his address, underlined that information was at the heart of civilisational progress and that access to relevant data was a problem around the world.

"A society without information will be parched. Indeed, there will be no fertile ground for the grass to grow. And what ultimately, if you look at the march of civilisation, you realise it is all based on information.

"In the absence of information, there is no dialogue. In the absence of information, there is no progress. So information is at the heart of the progress of civilisation. Unfortunately, all those who block information are doing great injustice," Sibal said.

He said that unfortunately, solutions are scarce in the absence of access to data.

"So it is time for us to think about these issues. Because in the ultimate analysis, it is not about us, it is about our future; not even our future but the future of humanity," Sibal said.

Lalit released the 100th episode of the series, which was followed by a panel discussion between Sibal, former Supreme Court judge Justice Abhay S Oka, and film director-producer Mahesh Bhatt. PTI MNR SKY SKY