The bench was hearing an appeal moved by the Directorate of Education (DoE). “Till further orders, there shall be a stay on the directions contained in paragraph 119 of the impugned judgment, except that the threshold income for admission under the EWS category shall stand increased from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2.5 lakh…,” it said.

Last year, the single-judge bench had passed its directions on a plea against the cancellation of a student’s admission under the EWS category for allegedly submitting false income and birth certificates.

The division bench today issued notice to the school and the child in the DoE’s appeal and listed it for hearing on August 5.

Appearing for the DoE, advocate Santosh Kumar Tripathi said the sudden increase in income threshold will “adversely impact deserving candidates from the labour category” with an annual income of Rs 1 lakh, potentially leading to reduced chances of securing admissions meant for economically weaker sections. Tripathi stated that this “arbitrary increase” violates the fundamental right to equality under Article 14 of the Constitution and imposes “unreasonable restrictions” on the right to education under Article 21A. He stated that the proposed increase of Rs 5 lakh will result in “injustice” and may hinder the intended purpose of providing free and compulsory education to economically weaker sections.

He emphasised that the “existing policy of relying on self-declarations is appropriate and does not require a change”. He further submitted that even if the directions in the December 5 judgment have to be implemented, the state would require time to change the system.

The appeal further submits that the direction in the December order, asking the Delhi government to eliminate the “mechanism of self-declaration for income certificates and establish an appropriate framework”, is factually erroneous since individuals who receive cash income daily, like labourers, “face practical challenges in obtaining income certificates without the provision of self-declaration”.

In its December order, the single-judge bench had asked the government to decide expeditiously on increasing the threshold income to a “commensurate amount which corresponds to the living standards of the intended beneficiaries”, adding that Rs 5 lakh would be the new cap till a decision is taken.

It had also said the criteria must be scientific and based on actual data and had asked the government to assess prevailing economic conditions and other relevant factors. It had also directed the DoE to frame a Standard Operating Procedure for income verification and regular monitoring of the eligibility criteria.