The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court struck down the State’s directive to collect sensitive social background data of Model School students, holding that gathering such information without purpose violates privacy rights and discriminates against marginalised students.
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court recently cancelled a directive to gather sensitive personal data regarding the social backgrounds of higher secondary school students in Model Schools operated by the State, describing such a practice as a violation of privacy rights.
A Bench comprising Justices G. Jayachandran and K.K. Ramakrishnan stated that collecting sensitive personal information from students without a specific purpose infringes on their right to privacy and constitutes discrimination against students from marginalized backgrounds.
The ruling asserted,
“The data sought to be collected as well as the manner in which, it is to be documented, in our view is absolutely in violation of privacy and such information sought to be collected from the students, who are pursuing their studies in Model School run by the Government, is clear discrimination and ill-treatment of the students of the Model School,”
The Court emphasized that such actions could further demoralize students from stigmatized social backgrounds.
The Court stated,
“This Court finds that it is an absolute abuse of power to demoralise the students, who have stigmatic background. Hence, the impugned order stands quashed and this writ petition is allowed,”
The case originated from a directive issued on September 4, 2025, by the Member Secretary, Model School, of the Tamil Nadu Education Department.
This directive instructed government-run Model Schools to collect personal and social background information from students in Classes 9 to 12.
The data collection involved 25 questions regarding the social and familial backgrounds of students, which included inquiries about whether they belonged to refugee, nomadic, or gypsy communities; if they were migrants from other States; or if they hailed from oppressed caste backgrounds.
It also addressed issues like gender non-conformity and histories of abuse and violence within their families, as well as any substance abuse issues.
Teachers were tasked with gathering this information from students and entering it into the Education Management Information System (EMIS) portal.
The directive faced opposition in the High Court through a writ petition, claiming that the nature of the data collection and the method used infringed upon students’ right to privacy. The petitioner argued that such categorization could expose vulnerable children to stigma and discrimination.
While the Model School authorities maintained that the data was being gathered to provide special assistance to students in need, the Court found this justification unconvincing. It remarked that the counsel for the Model School authorities failed to adequately clarify the purpose behind collecting such personal details.
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The Court also dismissed the argument posited by the Model School authorities that they were acting in their role as parents patriae.
Ultimately quashing the contested directive, the Court held,
“It is not explained as to what is the special attention that is are going to show to the students. The information are very sensitive and manner in which they are going to collect, will necessarily traverse into the privacy of the young students,”
The petitioner was represented by Advocate M. Aboobacker Siddik, while the State government and Model School authorities were represented by Government Pleader M. Thilak Kumar and Kavitha Deenadhayalan.