On July 26, during the hearing of the Muzaffarnagar student slapping case, the Supreme Court directed the Uttar Pradesh government to secure a sponsor to cover the victim child’s entire school education expenses.
During the hearing, Senior Advocate Garima Prasad informed the Court that an NGO had offered to assist with the costs. However, Justice Abhay S. Oka deemed this approach insufficient, stating, “This is quite vague. We need a concrete commitment from someone to cover the child’s entire educational expenses until the end of their schooling. This proposal does not fulfill the requirement.”
As a result, the Bench, which included Justice Augustine George Masih, postponed the matter until September 2, giving the State more time to find a suitable sponsor.
The case concerns an incident where a teacher at a Muzaffarnagar school instructed students to slap a Muslim student and used communal slurs against him. Activist Tushar Gandhi filed a public interest litigation (PIL) demanding a thorough and timely investigation. For more details, see the background here.
Previously, the Court had ordered the Uttar Pradesh State to appoint a senior IPS officer for the prosecution after Additional Solicitor General N. Venkataraman confirmed the filing of the chargesheet.
The Court also reviewed an application from the victim’s father requesting reimbursement for tuition fees, transportation, and other educational expenses. The State was instructed to file an affidavit regarding compliance with these requests.
The State had reported its efforts to find an appropriate NGO and requested Sharden Public School to consider adopting the child. The Court had previously expressed confidence that Sharden Public School would sympathetically consider the request given the circumstances.
Additionally, the Court is set to address issues related to compliance with the Right to Education Act (RTE), which forbids physical and mental harassment of students and discrimination based on religion and caste. In its September order, the Court had noted a “prima facie failure on the part of the State” to comply with the RTE mandates.
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