India: Supreme Court slams UP govt, police over slapping of Muslim boy by classmates

India’s apex court chastised the government of the Indian state of Uttar Pradeshon Monday (September 25) a month after disturbing video from the city of Muzaffarnagar went viral where a primary school teacher can be seen telling students to slap a classmate of the Muslim faith.

What happened?

The purported video of the incident showed students lining up to slap their Muslim classmate for not learning the multiplication tables as the teacher – identified as Tripta Tyagi – instigates them. Tyagi, who is also the owner of Neha Public School, can also be heard making some problematic, communal comments.

The video sparked outrage on the internet as well as from various quarters, including political parties and child rights organisations and the teacher had been booked under IPC sections 323 and 504 based on a complaint from the boy’s family.

‘Very serious issue’

The Supreme Court deemed the incident a “prima facie failure” to comply with the Right To Education (RTE) Act.

It slammed the Uttar Pradeshgovernment, saying that if the allegations are true, it must “shock the conscience of the state government.”

The court also raised questions about the delay in the registration of the FIR and the omission of allegations made by the victim’s father, which included communal targeting.

The SC bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Pankaj Mithal raised a “serious objection” to the manner in which the FIR was registered.

The FIR was filed on September 6, nearly two weeks after the incident and did not include the alleged “objectionable comments against a particular religion” that the teacher made, as per the boy’s father. The judge also questioned the absence of the transcript of the video in the FIR.

The justices said there was a “direct violation” of the child’s fundamental right to get compulsory and quality education under the RTE Act which also prohibits physical and mental harassment of students and discrimination on the basis of religion and caste.

“This is a very serious issue. Teacher telling Teacher telling students to hit a classmate because they belong to a particular community! Is this quality education? State must take responsibility of the education of the child. If the allegations are true, this should shock the conscience of the state,” Justice Oka told Solicitor General KM Nataraj, representing the UP government.

“There cannot be quality education if a student is penalised only on the grounds of his or her religion. Thus, there is a prima facie failure by the state government to comply with the mandates of the RTE Act and the rules framed thereunder,” the court added.

The SC has directed the state government to immediately appoint a senior IPS to monitor the investigation of the case and sought a report from the UP government on the implementation of the RTE Act in relation to the case.

They have also directed counselling for the victim child as well as for the children who were allegedly asked to assault their classmate by the teacher.

(With inputs from agencies)

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