Pune, March 6 -- The Bombay High Court's Nagpur bench on Thursday issued a notice to the Maharashtra government over its decision to restrict admissions under the 25% quota of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (RTE Act) to schools located within a one-kilometre radius of a child's residence. A division bench of Justice Anil S Kilor and Justice Raj D Wakode was hearing a petition challenging the Government Resolution dated February 12, 2026, which introduced the distance-based eligibility condition. In its order, the bench observed that "Section 12(1)(c) of the RTE Act, 2009 does not impose any such restriction for the 25 per cent quota on the basis of distance." The petition was filed by Shankar Atram, a Scheduled Tribe parent from Chandrapur district, who said he was unable to apply for admission for his son under the RTE quota because there was no eligible private unaided school within one kilometre of his residence. "There is no private school within one kilometre of my house. The nearest schools are three to four kilometres away. Because of this restriction, I could not even submit my child's RTE application. I only want my child to receive quality education under the RTE Act. I hope the government will reduce or withdraw the one-kilometre rule so that families like ours are not denied this right," Atram said. The plea contends that the restriction defeats the objective of the RTE Act, which mandates that 25% of seats in private unaided schools be reserved for children from socially, educationally and economically disadvantaged sections. Advocate Bodhi Ramteke, appearing for the petitioner along with advocate Deepak Chatap, argued that Section 12(1)(c) of the Act does not impose any distance restriction for admissions under the quota. The petitioner's counsel also relied on a 2024 judgment of the principal bench of the Bombay High Court which had observed that the Act does not prescribe a distance-based bar for admissions under the provision. The petition argues that the newly introduced one-kilometre condition is arbitrary and contrary to the statutory framework, particularly affecting children from rural and tribal areas where private schools are often located beyond such a short radius. After hearing the submissions, the bench issued notice to the state government and directed it to file its reply by March 9, 2026....