The Supreme Court on Monday, September 25, pulled up the Uttar Pradesh state government and the police for lapses in the investigation of the Muzaffarnagar school incident, when a Hindu school teacher slapped a Muslim boy in August and encouraged other students in the class to do so as well. The apex court questioned the police regarding delays in filing the FIR and for failing to mention the communal angle of the incident, Live Law reports. 

The court also said that there was prima facie evidence of the state government’s failure to comply with the Right to Education Act that protected students from mental and physical harassment and discrimination based on religion or caste.

The bench observed sternly, “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.” 

Additionally, the apex court pointed out that despite the complaint from the  child’s father, the FIR was registered only two weeks later.

The bench went on to point out, “We have serious objections to the manner in which FIR is registered. In the first complaint by the father, he has alleged that the teacher is making objectionable comments against a particular religion. In so-called non-cognizable reports, the same allegations are there. (But) In the FIR, these allegations are not there,” Live Law reports. 

A two-judge bench comprising Justices Pankaj Mittal and Abhay S Oka was hearing a public interest litigation filed by Tushar Gandhi, a great grandson of Mahatma and also an activist. 

The horrific affair came to light in August after a video of the incident went viral on social media.  In the video, the female school teacher can be heard saying in Hindi, “I have declared that all Muslim children should go.” She is also seen telling the rest of the class to hit the Muslim student, one after another. The incident took place on August 24 at Neha Public School, located in Khubbapur village under the jurisdiction of Mansurpur police station. 

During the probe into the incident,  it was found that recognition of the school had lapsed a year ago. Basic Education Officer Shubham Shukla had said earlier that though the school has requested in 2019 recognition to run classes from nursery to five, it was allowed to run the school provisionally for three years ending in 2022.Subsequently the school management should have sought renewal of recognition, but had failed to do so. Orders were issued to close down the school after the viral video controversy erupted.

The video led to widespread outrage, with many, including Rahul Gandhi, Asaduddin Owaisi, Shashi Tharoor and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), condemning the incident. 

According to India Today, the Supreme Court on Monday, also observed, “The teacher is targeting one community. We will go deep into this. Is this the way teachers teach students - is this quality education? State must take responsibility for this incident... Has the school appointed some counselor for the child? If this incident has happened, then it should shake the conscience of the state. It's a serious issue.” 

India Today also reports that the Supreme Court has directed the state government to provide counselling to the child victim, and appoint  a senior IPS officer to oversee the investigation and submit a report in three weeks. 

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