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Supreme Court asked Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay to approach the Centre with his plea seeking regulation of all educational and religious institutions teaching children under 14. The bench disposed of the PIL directing the Centre to consider his representation. The petitioner cited constitutional provisions and alleged unregulated institutions pose risks of manipulation and lack oversight.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday asked a petitioner to approach the Centre with his plea seeking directions to regulate all institutions that impart education or religious instructions to children below the age of 14 years.

A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma asked the petitioner, Advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, to make a representation before the Union of India.

"We dispose of this writ petition with a direction to Respondent No 1 (Centre) to look into the representation of the petitioner dated February 4, 2026, and take an appropriate decision thereon. The decision taken shall be communicated to the petitioner," the bench said.

When Upadhyay continued to press his plea, the bench said, "You are before a bench with judges who are very conservative and traditional. We don't jump the gun." The bench further observed, "Justice is not a one-way road. The executive also has a role to play in it." The plea, filed through Advocate Ashwani Dubey, had sought directions to "take appropriate steps to register, recognise, supervise and monitor all institutions imparting secular education or religious instructions to children up to the age of 14 years in the spirit of Article 21A read with Article 39(f), 45 and 51-A(k)." The petition stated that Article 30 does not grant any special or additional rights to minorities beyond what is already guaranteed under Article 19(1)(g).