Bombay High Court Upholds Right to Education for Imprisoned Individuals

The Bombay High Court has ruled that imprisonment does not take away an individual's right to pursue further education, permitting Mahesh Raut, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, to enroll in a law degree program. The court emphasized the violation of fundamental rights by denying admission despite an allotted seat.

In a landmark ruling, the Bombay High Court has affirmed that imprisonment does not strip an individual of the right to pursue further education. This comes as the court permitted Mahesh Raut, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, to enroll in a law degree program at Siddharth College of Law in Mumbai.

A division bench of Justices A S Gadkari and Neela Gokhale noted that denying Raut the opportunity to take admission, despite him securing a seat, would be a violation of his fundamental rights. Raut, who ranked 95th in the Maharashtra CET law examination, had been granted provisional admission but was unable to fulfill the mandatory physical presence due to his imprisonment.

The court directed the college to consider alternatives for document verification and emphasized that while Raut must abide by all standard rules and criteria, he retains the right to pursue his education. The case highlights the ongoing legal battles and fundamental rights issues faced by those imprisoned.

(With inputs from agencies.)