Overview
- A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court dismissed the challenge by a postal employee who sought hostel subsidy for a child at Sainik School, Kazhakkoottam, upholding the tribunal’s rejection of his claim.
- The court said the scheme’s hostel subsidy applies to residential schools located beyond 50 kilometres from an employee’s residence and cannot be extended when boarding is mandatory by a school within that radius.
- The Children Education Allowance Scheme limits hostel subsidy to Rs 3,000 per child for up to two children and ties eligibility specifically to distance-based necessity rather than parental choice of school.
- The case moved from the Central Administrative Tribunal, which first allowed the claim, to the High Court that set that order aside, remitted the matter, and then confirmed the tribunal’s later rejection.
- The judgment reinforces judicial reluctance to rewrite welfare policy and signals to government staff that courts will not broaden scheme terms to cover personal choices about school admission.