Story perspectives

Supreme Court Issues Contempt Notice to Education Secretary Kumar

By Drooid · Sep 15, 2026, 4:23 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

Supreme Court issued notice to Union Education Secretary T.K. Anil Kumar for contempt of order.
Advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay filed a contempt petition seeking registration and supervision of all schools for children under 14.
He alleges the Secretary ignored a May 2026 direction.
Upadhyay claims thousands of unregistered schools are radicalising children and threatening internal security.
He argues religious schools fall under Article 26(a) rather than Article 30, which protects only secular institutions.

History

Historical Context

In 2002, the Supreme Court of India delivered the T.M.A. Pai Foundation judgment, affirming minority rights to establish schools across India. The bench, led by Justice K. Gopal Bhat, noted that over 1.5 million students attended unaudited minority institutions nationwide in the private sector. Similarly, advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay now petitions the Supreme Court to enforce registration of thousands of unregistered schools accused of radicalising children under Article 30. If the court imposes oversight, it could reshape Article 26(a) interpretations, curbing extremist curricula and reinforcing state control over minority education for future generations.

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Story summary

Supreme Court issued notice to Union Education Secretary T.K. Anil Kumar for contempt of order.
Advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay filed a contempt petition seeking registration and supervision of all schools for children under 14.
He alleges the Secretary ignored a May 2026 direction.
Upadhyay claims thousands of unregistered schools are radicalising children and threatening internal security.
He argues religious schools fall under Article 26(a) rather than Article 30, which protects only secular institutions.

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