ANJUMAN ISHAAT-E-TALEEM TRUST versus THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA AND OTHERS (01/09/2025) — Supreme Court headnote

AI-generated headnote. Verify against the judgment before relying on it. Paragraph numbers refer to the judgment.

Summary

The Court held that passing the Teacher Eligibility Test is a mandatory minimum qualification under Section 23 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, applying to appointment by promotion as well as to initial appointment and to in-service teachers; it granted transitional relief under Article 142 to teachers appointed before the Act. Doubting the Constitution Bench decision in Pramati Educational and Cultural Trust, which exempted all minority schools, aided or unaided, from the whole RTE Act, it placed the appeals concerning minority institutions before the Chief Justice of India for consideration of a reference to a larger Bench.

Issues

Whether the State can insist that a teacher seeking appointment in a minority educational institution must qualify the TET, and if so whether that affects the institution's rights under Article 30(1).
Whether teachers appointed long before the NCTE notifications of 23 August 2010 and 29 July 2011, with many years of experience, must qualify the TET to be eligible for promotion.
Whether the decision in Pramati Educational and Cultural Trust, holding the RTE Act ultra vires insofar as it applies to minority schools, aided or unaided, under Article 30(1), requires reconsideration by a larger Bench.
Whether 'appointment' in Section 23 of the RTE Act covers appointment by promotion, and whether the TET is a 'minimum qualification' or merely an eligibility criterion.
Whether in-service teachers appointed before the RTE Act who have not qualified the TET may continue in service.

Provisions considered

Section 23(1) and (2) with provisos, Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009Section 23(1) makes a person possessing the minimum qualifications laid down by the notified academic authority (the NCTE) eligible for appointment as a teacher. The first proviso to Section 23(2) gave in-service teachers five years to acquire the minimum qualifications, and the second proviso inserted by the 2017 Amendment gave teachers in position on 31 March 2015 a further four years. 'Appointment' includes appointment by promotion, and the TET is a minimum qualification, not merely an eligibility criterion; the provisos would be rendered nugatory if the TET applied only to initial appointment. (¶¶ 60, 61, 67, 68, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 194, 196, 198, 199, 200, 201, 204, 205, 206)
Section 12(1)(c) read with Sections 2(d), 2(e) and 2(n), Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009Requires unaided schools to admit at least 25 percent of Class I from children of weaker sections and disadvantaged groups in the neighbourhood, with reimbursement. The Court observed that the provision does not require those children to belong to a different community, so compliance can be met by admitting disadvantaged children of the minority community itself; Pramati's blanket exemption rested on an assumption of demographic dilution and on analysis of this provision alone. (¶¶ 100, 101, 120, 121, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183, 187)
Section 1(4) and (5), Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009Inserted by the 2012 amendment, these make the Act apply subject to Articles 29 and 30 and exclude madrasas, vedic pathsalas and institutions primarily imparting religious instruction; the Court noted that this opened new dilemmas about exclusion and regulatory arbitrage. (¶¶ 108, 109)
Article 21A, Constitution of IndiaGuarantees free and compulsory education to children aged 6 to 14 in the manner the State determines by law. The RTE Act is the legislative expression of this right; quality of teachers is inherent in it. There is no inherent conflict between Articles 21A and 30(1), which must be harmonised, but Article 30(1) cannot be treated as an unqualified trump card excluding the Act altogether. (¶¶ 82, 84, 91, 99, 146, 151, 153, 154, 163, 169, 171, 175)
Article 30(1), Constitution of IndiaThe right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions is not absolute and confers no blanket immunity from regulation; per Kerala Education Bill, St. Xavier's and T.M.A. Pai, the right to administer is not the right to maladminister, and regulations in the national interest concerning standards of education, including teacher qualifications, apply to minority institutions so long as they do not destroy their minority character. (¶¶ 135, 136, 140, 141, 142, 143, 148, 149, 150, 151, 172, 173, 176, 177)
Article 29(2), Constitution of IndiaProhibits denial of admission to any citizen in State-maintained or State-aided institutions on grounds of religion, race, caste or language. Article 30(1) is subject to it for aided minority institutions; Pramati did not consider it while answering the second issue, which the Court thought could have produced a different outcome for aided minority schools under Section 12(1)(b). (¶¶ 133, 134, 137, 138, 139, 141)
Articles 19(1)(g) and 19(6), Constitution of IndiaThe RTE Act, enacted to give effect to Article 21A, is a reasonable restriction in the interest of the general public on the right to establish and administer educational institutions; its regulatory measures are necessary and proportionate. (¶¶ 144, 145, 146)
Article 141, Constitution of IndiaPramati, a Constitution Bench decision, binds the Court; a two-Judge Bench may doubt but not depart from it. Following M.R. Apparao, what binds is the principle underlying the decision read in the context of the questions raised, and whether Pramati declared law beyond Section 12(1)(c) was questioned since the validity of the other provisions was not raised before it. (¶¶ 122, 123, 124, 184, 207)
Article 142, Constitution of IndiaInvoked to protect in-service teachers with less than five years left to superannuation, who may continue without the TET, and to give those with more than five years left two years to qualify. (¶¶ 215, 216, 217)
Section 12A, National Council for Teacher Education Act, 1993Inserted after the RTE Act, it empowers the NCTE to determine by regulations the minimum qualifications of school teachers, with a proviso that such qualifications must be acquired within the period specified in the NCTE Act or the RTE Act. (¶¶ 57, 58, 59)
Clauses 1, 3, 4 and 5, NCTE Notification dated 23 August 2010 (as amended on 29 July 2011)Issued under Section 23(1), it lays down the minimum qualifications for teachers of classes I to VIII, including a pass in the TET, with limited exceptions for teachers appointed before 3 September 2001 under the then rules and for those with specified training; later amendments left the TET requirement unchanged. Together with Section 23, it makes the TET compulsory for teachers appointed on or after 23 August 2010 and a time-bound obligation for earlier appointees. (¶¶ 62, 63, 64, 66, 166, 168, 169)
Second proviso to Section 23(2), Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Act, 2017Gave every teacher appointed or in position on 31 March 2015 who lacked the minimum qualifications four years from the Amendment Act's commencement to acquire them; the MHRD letter of 3 August 2017 reminded States that no unqualified teacher would continue beyond the deadline. (¶¶ 67, 68, 69, 167, 200)

Held

The TET is a minimum qualification within Section 23 of the RTE Act, not a mere procedural requirement or eligibility criterion distinct from a qualification; only on passing it does a person become eligible for appointment as a teacher. Read with the NCTE notifications, the TET is compulsory for all teachers appointed on or after 23 August 2010 and a time-bound compliance obligation for those appointed earlier, and it is a constitutional necessity flowing from the right to quality education under Article 21A. (¶¶ 166, 169, 204, 205, 206)
'Appointment' in Section 23 is not confined to initial appointment; in legal parlance it includes appointment by promotion, transfer or absorption from internal sources. The first proviso to Section 23(2), which obliges in-service teachers to acquire the minimum qualifications within five years, would be rendered nugatory if the TET applied only to direct recruitment. In-service teachers aspiring for promotion, whatever their length of service, must therefore qualify the TET. (¶¶ 170, 194, 195, 196, 198, 199, 200, 201)
The quality of teachers is integral to the fundamental right to education under Article 21A: compromising teacher quality compromises the quality of education and threatens the right itself, so the State must ensure strict adherence to prescribed teacher qualifications. (¶¶ 156, 163)
Article 30(1) does not confer blanket immunity from regulation. Regulations in the national interest concerning standards of education, health, morality and the welfare of students and teachers apply to minority institutions provided they do not destroy the minority character. Minority institutions that undertake elementary education share the constitutional responsibility under Article 21A and cannot claim complete insulation from the RTE Act; the Act, enacted to effectuate Article 21A, is a reasonable restriction under Article 19(6). (¶¶ 135, 136, 143, 145, 146, 149, 151, 153, 154, 172, 173)
The Court expressed serious doubt whether Pramati Educational and Cultural Trust correctly exempted all minority schools, aided or unaided, from the entire RTE Act: the Constitution Bench analysed only Section 12(1)(c), gave no reasoning for extending the exemption to other provisions such as teacher qualifications and infrastructure, did not consider Article 29(2) for aided institutions, relied on T.M.A. Pai which concerned higher education, and overlooked that the 25 percent quota can be filled by disadvantaged children of the minority community itself so that no annihilation of minority character arises. Material such as the NCPCR study showed the exemption has become a vehicle for evading the Act. (¶¶ 120, 121, 125, 126, 129, 131, 141, 155, 174, 175, 176, 177, 180, 183, 185, 187, 188, 189, 191)
A two-Judge Bench may doubt but cannot depart from a Constitution Bench decision. Declining to refer directly to a seven-Judge Bench despite Aligarh Muslim University, the Court followed Lala Shri Bhagwan and placed four formulated questions before the Chief Justice of India to consider whether a reference to a larger Bench is warranted: whether Pramati requires reconsideration; whether the RTE Act infringes Article 30(1) and whether Section 12(1)(c) should have been read down to include disadvantaged children of the minority community; the effect of non-consideration of Article 29(2) on aided minority schools; and whether the entire Act could be declared ultra vires without discussion of provisions other than Section 12(1)(c). (¶¶ 207, 208, 209, 210, 211)
Until the reference is decided, all schools under Section 2(n) of the RTE Act other than those established and administered by religious or linguistic minorities must comply with the Act, and in-service teachers irrespective of length of service must qualify the TET to continue in service. (¶ 214)
Under Article 142, in-service teachers with less than five years of service left may continue until superannuation without the TET but will not be eligible for promotion without qualifying it; those appointed before the RTE Act with more than five years left must qualify the TET within two years, failing which they must quit service and may be compulsorily retired with terminal benefits subject to qualifying service, deficiencies in which may be considered by the Government on representation. (¶¶ 215, 216, 217, 218)
The State of Tamil Nadu's TET objection, raised for the first time before the Supreme Court in the appeals concerning Islamiah Higher Secondary Schools, would ordinarily not be entertained, but as the institution is a minority institution those appeals were also directed to be governed by the order of reference. (¶¶ 212, 213)

Result

Civil Appeals 1364-1367, 1385-1386, 6364 and 6365-6367 of 2025 (minority institutions) directed to be placed before the Chief Justice of India for appropriate directions on a reference to a larger Bench. Appeals relating to in-service teachers of non-minority schools (Civil Appeals 1389 to 1410 of 2025 series) disposed of by modifying the impugned judgments: TET mandatory for appointment and promotion; teachers with less than five years to superannuation may continue without TET; others must qualify within two years or quit service with terminal benefits.