Notice to Centre, states on kids’ safety in schools

New Delhi: Following the murder of a seven-year-old boy in Ryan International School in Gurugram near New Delhi, the Supreme Court on Friday issued notices to the Centre and all the states on a plea by two women lawyers seeking the framing of safety conditions for the protection of children in schools.

A bench of Chief justice Dipak Misra and justices A.M. Kanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud issued the notices on the PIL, which also sought the implementation of existing guidelines to protect school-going children from offences like sexual abuse and murder across the country. The Bench sought replies in three weeks and directed the PIL to be tagged with another PIL filed by the father of Pradhyuman Thakur, whose son was murdered in the school with his throat slit.  

The PIL also sought the cancellation of licenses of erring schools. It impleaded the Centre and all states as well as the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) on the prevention of child abuse in schools. The PIL raised the issue of children being exploited and subjected to child abuse repeatedly within the boundaries of the schools and demanded that the Centre and the state governments notify a set of non-negotiable child-safety conditions for schools. They have also suggested some additional guidelines to ensure that the responsibility is fastened on the schools with regard to safety of children from the moment they board the school bus/vehicle.