The Supreme Court on May 14 urged the Uttar Pradesh Government to cover all educational expenses, including the transportation fees of the student who was the victim of the Muzaffarnagar Student Slapping Case in 2023. While hearing the PIL, filed by Tushar Gandhi, under the implementation of the Right to Education Act, 2009, the Supreme Court stated, “We again clarify that the primary responsibility of meeting this expenditure is of the state. It will also be open for the state to persuade the school authorities to bear the expenses”.
The Court also directed that it is up to the state government to seek assistance from charitable organisations or persuade the school to bear the expenses.
The PIL was filed in August 2023 after a video surfaced on social media showing a seven-year-old Muslim boy being slapped by the teacher and making offensive comments against his religion at a government school. The teacher then asks other students to slap him one by one.
Senior advocate Shadan Farsat, appearing for the petitioner, informed the court that the respective party had not paid the child’s uniform charges and semester fees, and the transportation charges were remunerated only two days before. In November 2023, the State had assured the family that the child would be admitted to a private school and all the expenses would be taken care of.
Farsat further informed the court that the child’s parents are agriculturists and could not bear the financial expenditure, and the family has repeatedly been in embarrassment. He urged the court to direct the state to make the payments directly to the school and not through the child’s family.
In the wake of the incident, the Court issued extensive directions on the significance of imparting constitutional values in the classes. In the recent hearing, the Court stressed and directed the State to inform all parents in all the recognised schools in Uttar Pradesh to inform parents about the grievance redressal mechanisms under Section 17(1) of the RTE Act, which prohibits physical or mental harassment of children.
The incidents sparked outrage among the public and oppositional leaders, Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav calling it ‘poison of discrimination’ and ‘blot on society’. AIMIM chief Asawuddin Owaisi criticised the Uttar Pradesh Government’s inaction, suggesting that the incident reflects a broader message that Muslims can be humiliated without repercussions.
