Maharashtra school denies admission on basis on religion, 3 booked

A Muslim girl was allegedly denied admission in a school located in Jaripatka of Maharashtra’s Nagpur district over her religious identity.

The school secretary of Dayanand Arya Kanya Vidyalaya, Rajesh Lalwani, instructed the staff to deny admissions to girls from the Muslim community. 

On May 8, the girl’s parents reportedly approached the school for admission in Class 6, but were informed by a teacher, Anita Arya, that there were no vacancies. They were advised to keep their daughter in her current school.

However, an assistant teacher, Suman Masand, reportedly found that the school secretary and trustee, Rajesh Lalwani, had given staff oral instructions not to admit any students from the Muslim community. Suman also allegedly has a recording of Lalwani’s instructions, The Observer Post reported.

Following this, Masand approached the principal, Dr Geeta Harwani, and informed her of the matter. On May 13, a complaint was filed with the Maharashtra State Minority Commission, after which two officials from the District Child Protection Unit were sent to investigate the matter.

An FIR was booked on May 14 against school secretary Rajesh Lalwani, admission in-charge Simran Gyanchandani, and teacher Anita Arya under Section 299 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs.

The admission process of the Muslim girl is now reportedly in motion.

Maharashtra State Minority Commission member, Pyare Khan also posted about the incident on his Twitter, saying, “Education is for everyone and there is no place for discrimination in it. Action has been ordered against Muslim girl students for not being admitted to Dayanand Arya Kanya Vidyalaya in Nagpur. The commission will ensure that they get admission soon.”

Samajwadi Party MLA, Rais Shaikh, also condemned the act, calling it “a direct attack on the values of our Constitution.” He urged chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to ensure that such incidents do not occur again.