New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday took a stern view of the Uttar Pradesh (UP) government’s failure to provide counseling facilities to the children involved in a widely publicized incident.
In this incident, a school teacher was seen instructing students to slap a fellow Muslim classmate based on their community affiliation.
The court observed a complete breach of its directions and directed the state government to submit a fresh compliance affidavit before the next listing date.
The bench, comprised of Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan, stressed the importance of implementing the recommendations put forth by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) regarding the incident that occurred in UP’s Muzaffarnagar in August of the previous year.
The Supreme Court set the next hearing for March 1, stating its intention to delve further into the matter.
In a prior hearing, the Supreme Court had orally remarked that the incident should “shock the conscience of the state” if the viral video is found to be authentic.
The court emphasised that quality education cannot prevail if a student is penalized solely based on their community affiliation.
The viral video depicted fellow students slapping a 7-year-old at the teacher’s urging, with the teacher referring to the child’s faith in a derogatory manner.
The plea filed in the Supreme Court sought directions for a time-bound and independent investigation into the incident, along with the establishment of guidelines to prevent violence against students belonging to religious minorities in schools.
