Published 16:39 IST, October 11th 2019
Delhi HC seeks Delhi govt response on education of Pakistani refugees
The Delhi HC on Friday has sought the response of Delhi Government for a petition filed by a Pakistani national for seeking admission for his three children
The Delhi court on Friday has sought the response of the Delhi Government for a petition filed by a Pakistani national for seeking admission for his three children in any of the schools in Delhi. Gul Sher, Pakistani national had filed a petition in the Delhi High Court asking the court to intervene for granting admission to his siblings in a government school in Delhi. The schools in Delhi had denied admissions to his children citing age issues.
Migrated in May 2019
Sher had migrated to India on a tourist visa in May earlier this year and has been residing in Chhatarpur's Bhati Mines area since then. In his petition, he claimed to have migrated from Pakistan because the Pakistan authorities had persecuted and traumatized his family. The petition further reads, "These Hindu families who migrated from Pakistan to India have a large number of school-age children who are required to be admitted in government schools so as to enable them to continue their education."
"They were unceremoniously removed from the school on the alleged grounds of being over-aged. Now they are sitting at home and suffering mental agony and harassment," the petition said.
No response from Delhi government
The petitioner, through All India Parents Association (AIPA), had requested Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to intervene in the matter but there hasn't been any response from the government. After coming to India, Sher's children Sanjina Bai, Moona Kumari, and Ravi Kumar got themselves registered with the Directorate of Education (DoE) in Class IX, following which they were allowed to attend the classes from July 8 to September 14.
The trio seeking admission in different classes in a government school in Chhatarpur were denied admission on the ground that they were overaged. Justice Rajiv Shakhdar has sent a notice to the government and the next hearing on the issue will be held on October 17. Advocate Aggarwal cited the case of another Pakistani Hindu refugee girl in 2016 who was given admission in a Delhi school by relaxing the rules, despite having no educational documents. Her case was referred by then External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
(With ANI inputs)
Updated 22:11 IST, October 11th 2019