"Failed In What Was Expected To Do After This Offence": SC Raps UP Govt in Muzaffarnagar Student Slapping Case

In the most recent update on the Muzaffarnagar student slapping case, the Supreme Court made an statement on Friday, January 12 stating that the state government's response to the incident was not as anticipated. The case relates to a primary school teacher in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar instructing schoolchildren to slap their Muslim classmate, the video of the same went viral on social media sites in August.

During the latest hearing on Friday, the court had asked the state government to submit an affidavit on how it intended on implementing recommendations by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) regarding the counselling for the victim. In compliance with this direction, the education department has filed an additional affidavit, the bench revealed today.

Advocate Shadan Farasat, who is fighting for the victim, expressed dissatisfaction with the department's response, calling it insufficient. He stated, I have reviewed the affidavit, which I received just yesterday. In my opinion, it is inadequate, as reported by Live Law.

Extremely grave and a clear breach of Article 21A

During a previous court session, the incident was noted as extremely grave and a clear breach of Article 21A (which guarantees a child's right to free and mandatory education), the Right to Education Act, and the Uttar Pradesh Rules. These rules mandate local authorities to prevent discrimination against children in classrooms.

In September, the court instructed the Muzaffarnagar police superintendent to provide an update on the investigation's status and the measures implemented to safeguard the underage victim. Subsequently, after reviewing the superintendent's report, the bench expressed discontent with the Uttar Pradesh police's management of the situation. They were particularly dissatisfied with the delay in filing a first information report (FIR) and the exclusion of accusations of communal animosity from the report. As a result, the court mandated a senior police officer to take charge of the case.