New Delhi: Eight girls who were refused admission by different government schools in east Delhi have moved the Delhi High Court which on Tuesday asked the education department to explain why the students were turned away.

Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw asked the government to explain by August 5 why it failed to admit the girls in its schools.

The girls residing in different areas in east Delhi approached the court when they were refused admission by the schools on frivolous grounds.

Some of the reasons cited by the schools for denying them admission were that they belonged to a different state, they were overage and that being drop-outs they could not be re-admitted in school.

All the girls moved the court complaining that the government schools had violated the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (RTE Act, 2009) by denying them admission on one pretext or the other.

As per the petition, Gulafshah and Nisha Parveen were denied admission in Class 6 in Sarvodaya Kanya Bal Vidyalaya, Babarpur on the ground that they were from Uttar Pradesh.

Firdosh was denied admission in Class 7 in Government Girl Senior Secondary School, Khajuri Khas, and Rabia was denied admission to Class 8 in Rajkiya Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya, Khajuri Khas, on the ground that there were no seats available in the schools.

Uzma Bano and Samreen Bano were denied admission in Class 9 and 6, respectively, by Government Girls Senior Secondary School, New Ashok Nagar, alleging that they were overage.

Rakhi Jain and Ritika Jain were denied re-admission in Class 8 and 9, respectively, in Government Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya, Gokulpur, alleging that dropped out students could not be re-admitted.

Ashok Agarwal, counsel for the girls, argued before the court that the denial of admission to these girls by Delhi government schools was illegal and unconstitutional.

"These cases of the girl students are only few instances, government schools are invariably denying admission to thousands of students on false and illegal grounds," he said.

"Government schools are the only hope for the children of the masses and if these schools deny them admission, where would they go," said Agarwal. IANS