NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday summoned Uttar Pradesh's Principal Secretary, Education, in relation to the viral incident where a school teacher was seen instructing students to slap a fellow classmate from a particular community.
A bench of Justices Abhay S. Oka and Justice Pankaj Mithal said that the state government failed to arrange proper counselling services for the victim and other children involved in the incident.
"We find that the State of Uttar Pradesh and in particular the Education Dept has not complied with various orders passed by the court from time to time ….. To say the least, the approach of the state, as can be seen in the affidavit, is shocking," it said.
The top court directed the Tata Institute of Social Studies (TISS) to suggest child welfare experts who could offer professional counselling at the victim's residence in Muzaffarnagar.
It said that the Principal Secretary concerned of the Uttar Pradesh government will ensure compliance with the previous orders passed by the apex court and will remain present virtually through video-conferencing facilities on December 11, the next date of listing.
On Nov 6, the Supreme Court had ordered that a senior government official should speak to the principal of the school in which the affected child's father was keen to get him admitted.
In an earlier hearing, it had orally remarked that the incident should "shock the conscience of the state” if the viral video is found to be true.
The apex court had ordered the state government to depute a senior IPS official to conduct a probe into the allegations contained in the FIR. "There cannot be any quality education if a student is sought to be penalised only on the ground that he belongs to a particular community," it had remarked.
A video went viral from Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar where fellow students were seen slapping a 7-year-old at the behest of the teacher of a private school who referred to his faith in a derogatory manner. The PIL filed in the Supreme Court sought directions for a time-bound and independent investigation in the incident and setting up of guidelines for preventing violence against students belonging to religious minorities in schools.