Supreme Court notice to UP govt on Muzaffarnagar student slapping case

The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Uttar Pradesh government to file a status report on an FIR lodged in a case related to the slapping of a Muslim student at a private school in Muzaffarnagar.

A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Pankaj Mithal sought a report from the Superintendent of Police on the status of the probe.

The viral video of the incident purportedly showing teacher of the class provoking other students to slap a Muslim fellow student led to an outrage across the country, with the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights and the National Human Rights Commission issuing a notice to the state government.

On Wednesday, taking up a plea by Tushar Gandhi, great grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, the bench issued notice to the state government and put the matter for hearing on September 25.

The plea filed by advocate Shadan Farasat sought directions for a time-bound and independent investigation including registration of FIR in respect of all provisions where prima facie disclosing commission of offences, specifically Section 82 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, in the recent episode of atrocities committed against a 7-year-old boy in Muzaffarnagar.

"The appalling and ghastly episode that occurred in Neha Public School, Muzaffarnagar also has an insidious effect on pupils who witness it, creating an atmosphere of fear, anxiety, intolerance and polarisation, incompatible with learning," the plea claimed.

On August 24, 2023, a "disturbing video" emerged of the minor boy being slapped by fellow students in a Neha Public School in Muzaffarnagar village on instructions of their teacher/principal Tripti Tyagi because he got his multiplication tables wrong, it said.

The plea said the 7-year-old boy complained that he felt disturbed and was unable to sleep following the incident. 

"Ever since the FIR has been filed, there has been a mounting pressure on the child’s family to strike a “compromise” and get the FIR against the teacher expunged," it claimed.

"The teacher and the children belong to a community that is electorally dominant community in the Western Uttar Pradesh, India and there are concerns that ruling government is trying to suppress the furore that the incident has justifiably created," it added.

The plea also sought a prescription of preventive and remedial recourse in relation to treatment of children, particularly those belonging to religious minorities within the school systems.