New Delhi, Aug. 7 -- The Supreme Court on Wednesday held that orphaned children must be considered part of "disadvantaged groups" under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009, making them eligible for admission under the 25% quota in all aided, unaided and special category schools. The top court also urged the Union government to count orphaned children in the upcoming 2027 census by including a separate category for them. A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and KV Viswanathan directed all states and Union territories to issue notifications within four weeks clarifying that the term "child belonging to disadvantaged groups", as defined in Section 2(d) of the Act, also includes orphaned children. "The term 'such other group having disadvantage owing to social, cultural, economical, geographical, linguistic, gender or such other factor,' in Section 2(1)(d) must include orphan children, as they are socially and economically disadvantaged," held the court, noting that orphans, whether in orphanages or protected institutions, deserve to be covered under this constitutional mandate. The court observed that for orphaned children, the State must act in parens patriae -- as the legal guardian -- and that their foremost right is access to education. "Sections 3 and 12 of the RTE Act mandate free and compulsory education. The right of orphans to be admitted to schools under the 25 per cent quota must be enforced," the bench said....