6.11.2. Description/Historical Evolution

In 1992, the Supreme Court held in Mohini Jain case that the “right to education” is part of “right to life” and hence is a fundamental right under Part III of the Constitution.

The Supreme Court Judgment in Unni Krishnan case further reinforced the same when it affirmed that right to education flows from the right to life guaranteed under Article 21 and draws its support from the Directive Principles of the Constitution, Article 41 and 45.

Article 41 provides for right to education. Article 45 originally required the State to make provisions within 10 years for free and compulsory education for all children until they achieved the age of 14 years. It has been replaced by 86th Amendment Act.

Notably, SC held that this too is not an absolute right. It shall depend on the state to determine the manner in which it shall implement the right.

The demand for RTE was first made by Gopal Krishna Gokhale during British times. After 100 years of this, RTE came into existence.