New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday criticised the Uttar Pradesh government for delaying a first information report (FIR) over an incident in which a Muslim boy was slapped by his classmates on the instructions of a teacher.
The top court questioned the state for not ensuring “quality education” to its students, adding the episode was a violation of rules framed under the Right to Education Act (RTE).
A bench, led by Justice Abhay Oka, observed: “If this incident has happened, then it should shock the conscience of the state. It’s a serious issue. How will you ensure quality education?”
The bench also felt the FIR did not contain the allegations that were mentioned in the complaint given to the police, adding it would monitor the investigation from now on.
The court will next hear the matter on 30 October, as it has asked the senior officer to file a compliance report within three weeks. Judges said the report should also include information on the steps taken to provide professional counselling to the victim and to the students who slapped him.
The remarks were made while the court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Tushar Gandhi, the great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi. The apex court had issued a notice on the PIL on 6 September, asking the Uttar Pradesh police to apprise it about steps taken to investigate the incident.
Gandhi’s petition referred to a video – which surfaced in late August – where Tripta Tyagi, a teacher in the Muzaffarnagar school, was seen making communal remarks and allegedly provoking classmates to slap the seven-year-old Muslim boy.
On Monday, additional solicitor general K.M. Natarajan told the court that the FIR was registered on 6 September. The court noted the FIR came after a long delay and that offences were also under various sections of the IPC and the Juvenile Act.
Piqued at the slow action, the bench directed that a senior officer – nominated by the state government – look into whether these sections deserved to be invoked. The IPS officer, the court added, should directly submit the report to the top court.
The bench brushed aside Uttar Pradesh’s objections to Gandhi addressing himself as the great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi as Natarajan had reservations over Gandhi taking “the support of the Father of the Nation” in his petition.
To this, the court said the state should not be connected with the petitioner’s locus as “this is a case where the criminal law process was not set in motion and there was violation of fundamental rights and RTE”. “Therefore, the court can always treat the petition as suo motu proceedings,” the bench said.
It also refrained from highlighting the precise nature of the allegations but noted the teacher had criticised the child while asking other children to assault the student because he belonged to a particular community.
Underlining the provisions of the RTE Act, the bench said the law clearly stated that free and compulsory education should be of satisfactory and equitable quality and that there should be norms and standards.
“We may note that there is a complete bar on physical and mental harassment of children. If parents are also made to bear the brunt then it is the worst form, since here teachers directed other students also,” the court said.
If a student is penalised only on the grounds that he belongs to a particular community, there could not be any quality education, the court further observed.
Noting the case was a prima facie violation of the RTE Act, the court directed the state to ensure professional counselling to the victim and also to the students who slapped him.
It also asked the state about steps taken to ensure quality education for the boy from now on, adding the administration could not expect the child to continue in the same school.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
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