The Supreme Court on April 15 asked the Uttar Pradesh government to clarify measures taken to prosecute a school teacher in Muzaffarnagar who goaded the classmates of a seven-year-old Muslim boy to slap him repeatedly while making communal remarks.
In March, a Bench headed by Justice A.S. Oka had made sure that the State government took expert help from agencies such as HAQ, Muskan and Childline in counselling the child and his classmates after the traumatic episode. The court noted in the order that the State was “substantially complying” with its directions regarding the nature and depth of the counselling sessions. The court had made it clear to the State that the exercise should not be reduced to a cosmetic one.
The court’s intervention had led the child to be transferred out of the school, which was really operating from the teacher’s house, to a proper one. The State had agreed to pitch in with the child’s educational expenses. However, the boy’s father had complained that the State had turned unresponsive. The court agreed to hear his applications.
Right to Education Act
The court has consistently blamed the State government for its failure to provide a safe environment, recognised schools and qualified teachers for children in accordance with the Right to Education Act.
The Act mandates quality, free and compulsory education for children up to 14 years without any discrimination on the basis of caste, creed or gender.
The court had flagged the slapping incident as a “very serious” and direct violation of Article 21A (the fundamental right of a child to free and compulsory education) of the Constitution, the Right to Education Act and even the Uttar Pradesh Rules which task the local authorities to ensure that children do not face discrimination in classrooms.
The court said it would separately take up the larger issue of the implementation of the Right to Education Act in Uttar Pradesh.
‘Watered-down FIR’
In September last year, the court had criticised the State for a “watered-down” and delayed FIR against the teacher, 60-year-old Trpti Tyagi.
The petitioner, Tushar Gandhi, represented by advocate Shadan Farasat, had highlighted that corporal punishment was rampant in the Indian education system.
“The appalling and ghastly episode is preceded by a series of instances of violence against students belonging to marginalised communities,” the petition said.
