New Delhi: The Supreme Court sharply criticised the Uttar Pradesh government on Friday for mishandling the case of a Muslim schoolboy slapped by classmates at their teacher’s behest. Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan stated that the state’s inadequate response exacerbated the incident’s impact.
Hearing a petition by Mahatma Gandhi’s great-grandson Tushar Gandhi seeking a swift investigation, the bench underlined the state’s responsibility to address the incident appropriately.
“All this happened because the State did not do what was expected of it after the offence. The state should have been concerned about the manner in which the incident had happened. Therefore, we have raised other issues also regarding implementation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act,” the bench said and posted the matter for further hearing on February 9.
Justice Oka also raised concerns about the implementation of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) recommendations regarding counseling for the victim and his classmates. He asked petitioner’s lawyer Shadan Farasat to collaborate with the victim’s father and submit suggestions to the state on effectively implementing the report’s recommendations.
Despite the court’s directive, Uttar Pradesh’s stance remained defensive. Senior advocate Garima Prashad, representing the state, highlighted the education department’s affidavit detailing its efforts to implement the TISS report. However, Farasat dismissed the affidavit as “inadequate” and accentuated the need for a detailed response focusing on implementing the recommendations effectively.
The bench asked Farasat to give in writing his suggestions to the state government after consulting the father of the victim so the recommendations can be implemented.
Furthermore, Prashad raised concerns about the distance the victim must travel to his new school – 28 km. While acknowledging the family’s right to choose, she pointed out the inconsistency with the Right to Education (RTE) Act, which mandates schools within 1 km for Class 1-5 and 3 km for Class 6-8.
Farasat countered by highlighting the lack of appropriate schools in the vicinity and pointed out the child’s previous school was the very one responsible for the trauma. It’s pertinent to note that the child’s current school placement outside his vicinity was arranged at the father’s request, following the court’s directive on November 6, 2023.
The judges stressed their focus on first ensuring the proper implementation of TISS recommendations, followed by addressing related RTE concerns. This comes after the court’s strong rebuke to the state on November 10, 2023, for failing to comply with its order to assign an agency for counseling the impacted students.
The Muzaffarnagar Police have registered a case against the teacher for making communal remarks and inciting physical assault, and the school received a notice from the state education department.