Juvenile conflict with the law does not have any Fundamental Right or Statutory Right to higher education abroad: Punjab and Haryana High Court
The Punjab and Haryana High Court passed a judgment that a juvenile who is in violation of the law does not have any Fundamental Right or Statutory Right to pursue higher education in foreign countries and it can be curtailed according to procedure established by law in a reasonable, just and fair manner by considering the scheme, object and spirit of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. This was seen in the case of Rxxxxx Dxxxxx Vs. State of Haryana (Criminal Revision No. 1806 of 2022) and the case was presided over by Honourable Mr. Justice Jasgurpreet Singh Puri.
FACTS OF THE CASE:
The juvenile concerned is alleged in a rash and negligent driving case where a person succumbed to injuries due to his act. The petitioner has been selected to pursue a 4-year graduation course at Columbia College in Chicago, US. Therefore, he filed a petition before Juvenile Justice Board seeking permission to travel abroad for higher education which was subsequently declined.
The juvenile through his counsel filed a revision petition before Punjab and Haryana High Court to quash the impugned order of the Juvenile Justice Board and sought permission to pursue higher education abroad.
The learned counsel heavily relied on Maneka Gandhi versus Union of India and another (1978) 1 SCC 248 and argued that the petitioner has a fundamental right to travel and to go abroad which emanates from Article 21 of the Constitution of India.
JUDGEMENT
The Court acknowledged the submissions made before it and found that the Right to Education under Article 21A does not include higher education whereas it talks about elementary education. Therefore, the right to higher education is nowhere a part of Part III (Fundamental Rights) of the Indian Constitution. The Court, therefore, came to the conclusion that an undertrial or a juvenile who is a child in conflict with the law does not have any Fundamental Right or Statutory Right to higher education abroad.
The respected Court also considered that the Right to travel abroad is a fundamental human right as well as part of the Right to Personal Liberty under Article 21. Still, it can be curtailed according to procedure established by law in a reasonable, just, and fair manner by considering the scheme, object, and spirit of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.
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JUDGEMENT REVIEWED BY ABHINAV SHUKLA.