“Prima Facie Failure of RTE Act”: SC on Muzaffarnagar Muslim Student Slapping Case

By Legal Wires 4 Minutes Read

The Supreme Court of India is actively addressing the Muzaffarnagar student slapping case, emphasizing the need for comprehensive support for the victim child’s education. This case involves a distressing incident where a teacher in Muzaffarnagar incited students to slap a Muslim classmate while hurling communal slurs. The Supreme Court has directed the State of Uttar Pradesh to find a sponsor for the victim’s school education and has set further hearings to ensure proper compliance with this directive.

Supreme Court Directives:

The Supreme Court, on Friday, 26 july, while addressing the Muzaffarnagar case, instructed the State of Uttar Pradesh to find a sponsor for the victim child’s school education.
Senior Advocate Garima Prasad mentioned that an NGO had come forward to manage the expenditures.
Justice Abhay S. Oka found this vague and inadequate, stressing the need for a committed sponsor to cover all educational expenses until the end of school. “This is actually vague. Somebody must come forward and say that they will take care of the child’s entire expenditure till school education comes to an end. This is not the way. This will not serve the purpose.”
Justice Augustine George Masih, posted the matter for next hearing on September 2 to enable the State to make more efforts to get a sponsor.

Incident Background and Legal Proceedings:

A teacher in Muzaffarnagar asked students to slap a Muslim student and used communal slurs.
Activist Tushar Gandhi filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) for a thorough and timely investigation.
Initially Court directed Uttar Pradesh to appoint a senior IPS officer for proper prosecution after being informed by Additional Solicitor General N. Venkataraman about the charge sheet filing.

Victim Support and Compensation:

The victim moved to a private school following the incident.
Father’s Application Included requests for tuition fee reimbursement, transportation costs, and provision of stationery and uniforms.
Court’s Order directed the State to file an affidavit regarding compliance with these requests.
The State is seeking an appropriate NGO to support the child.
Prasad informed the Court about a request made to Sharden Public School to adopt the child.
The Court expressed confidence that Sharden Public School would consider the adoption sympathetically.

Compliance with Right to Education Act:

Right to Education Act (RTE): The Act prohibits physical and mental harassment and discrimination based on religion and caste.
The Court noted a “prima facie failure” by the State to comply with the RTE Act’s mandate.
The issue concerning RTE Act compliance will be addressed in further hearings.