Schools must have CCTV: HC

Mumbai

All schools must have CCTVs, observed the high court while reacting to reports about the molestation of a nine-year-old girl in a school in Dadar area in Central Mumbai.

During the hearing of a public interest litigation on women safety, in the wake of the nine-year-old girl was sexually assaulted in the washroom of the Dadar school by a 19-year-old cleaner, a division bench of Justices Naresh Patil and Amjad Sayed observed, "This kind of news is very disturbing. Parents of the children send their kids to school believing that the school authorities and teachers will take care of them. What steps is the Education Department planning to take to ensure that such incidents do not occur." The bench also asked if the State can make it mandatory in schools where it gives grant-in-aid.

They must have it and periodical vigilance was required, the court said.

"CCTVs should be installed inside school premises. Make it mandatory at least for those schools which receive grant from the government," the court suggested. Earlier, during the hearing of PIL on women safety, Advocate Madhav Jamdar submitted clippings of newspaper reports to the bench and said the government must take a meeting with principals and senior lady teachers.

Mr Jamdar also submitted that such incidents were regularly happening.

On this, the Judges asked what instruction the State proposes to give schools in the background of such incidents. Then the bench said all schools must install CCTVs. The bench asked the government's advocate Priya Bhushan Kakadeto inform at the next hearing on January 22.