The Madras High Court has quashed an order issued by the Tamil Nadu government to collect sensitive personal data on the social background of higher secondary students in model schools, saying that the move violated their right to privacy, Bar and Bench reported on Saturday.

Model schools were established in Tamil Nadu to coach higher secondary students to clear competitive exams and help them secure admission to premier higher educational institutions.

The matter before the bench pertained to an order issued by the state Education Department on September 4, 2025, which directed government-run model schools to collect personal and social background information from students studying in Classes 9 to 12, Bar and Bench reported.

The information to be collected comprised 25 questions about the social and familial background of the students, including whether they were from refugee, nomadic or gypsy communities, migrants from other states, or from oppressed caste backgrounds.

Other questions included whether students had gender non-conforming identities, were survivors of abuse or violence, or had families with a history of substance abuse, the legal news portal reported.

The order directed teachers to collect the information from students and upload it on a portal.

On January 5, Justices G Jayachandran and KK Ramakrishnan of the Madurai bench held that collecting such data without a clear purpose also amounted to discrimination against students from vulnerable backgrounds.

“The data sought to be collected as well as the manner in which, it is to be documented…is absolutely in violation of privacy and…is clear discrimination and ill-treatment of the students of the model school,” the legal news portal quoted the bench as saying.

The move would only demoralise students who came from “stigmatic” social backgrounds, it said, adding that it was an “absolute abuse of power”.

The order came in response to a writ petition filed before the court challenging the direction.

Earlier, the authorities of the model schools had maintained that the details were being collected to ensure special attention could be given to students who required it.

While quashing the order, the court noted that the counsel representing the authorities was unable to provide justification for the collection of such information. The bench added that it was also not explained what kind of special attention the students were expected to receive.

The bench further rejected the authorities’ argument that the data was being collected in their role as parens patriae, Bar and Bench reported.

Parens patriae, which is Latin for “parent of the country”, is a legal doctrine allowing the state to act as the ultimate guardian for individuals unable to care for themselves, such as children, the incapacitated, or the disabled, intervening to protect their welfare and interests when their natural caretakers fail or are absent