The school secretary of a private school in Nagpur withheld admission to a student from the Muslim community, citing a ban on girls from particular religious communities from studying there. The city police have booked school secretary Rajesh Lalwani and others under section 299 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Samhiti for deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs.
The School management secretary, Rajesh Lalwani of Dayanand Arya Kanya Vidyalaya, a private school in Nagpur, was found to have given oral instructions not to admit girls from the Muslim community. An assistant teacher, Suman Masand, questioned the decision and later reported the incident to the Principal, Dr. Geeta Harwani. The family came with their daughter to enrol her in class 6. The complainant is the Principal, who took the matter to the Police and the student’s family.
The family approached the school on May 8 for admission, and during the due process, Anita Arya informed the family that there were no vacant seats, as mentioned in the FIR. When Suman enquired about this with the Management, it was revealed that Rajesh Lalwani, a trustee of the school, allegedly said that he doesn’t want girls from a Muslim community to study in the school. Suman claims an audio recording of Rajesh Lalwani denying admission on religious grounds and reported the matter to the Principal.
The Jaripatka Police have filed an FIR against Rajesh Lalwani, the school’s secretary, admission in-charge Simran Gyanchandani, and teacher Anita Arya. The FIR says that the girl was advised to remain in the current school and that there was no vacancy there.
A statement of complaint was sent to the Maharashtra State Minority Commission on May 13, following which officials from the District Child Protection Unit came to the school to investigate the matter. After this, the Police filed a formal complaint against the above three, alleging religious sentiments and mental harassment of the family.
The school later resumed the admission procedure and informed the family.
