The Bombay High Court on Wednesday slammed the Maharashtra government for delay in implementation of recommendations of a committee overseeing the safety and security of children in schools across the state.
The state-level committee was formed after the HC initiated a suo motu PIL in the wake of the Badlapur sexual assault case last year.
The bench of Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Neela K Gokhale questioned if the government was serious on dealing with the issue and preventing incidents of sexual assault.
This came after Additional Public Prosecutor Prajakta P Shinde for the government sought time for its several departments to review the recommendations before taking decisions on the same. The HC had earlier extended time for the government to go through the comittee’s recommendations and to issue guidelines based on the same.
“You (state government) cannot seek adjournment every time or should we summon the secretary of the concerned department? If you are serious about the issue of sexual exploitation, then you would work day and night and implement the guidelines… You will exhibit your sensitivity for what purpose, if not this? Have your officers at least gone through the suggestions? Ask them to compile the guidelines in a Government Resolution (GR). Are you waiting for another incident to happen?,” the bench orally questioned the state.
It said the decision would impact the schools in the state and the government cannot be “complacent” over the issue and posted further hearing to April 28.
The HC appointed panel in the wake of Badlapur incident was headed by retired Justices Sadhana Jadhav and Shalini Phansalkar-Joshi and former IPS officer Meeran Borwankar was also made part of the committee.
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The committee’s recommendations included character verification for staff, responsibility on school for safe transportation of children, mandatory CCTV cameras in schools, teaching children to distinguish between good touch and bad touch and making them aware about cyber crimes.
The panel also suggested that the toll free number 1098 be displayed at prominent places and separate washrooms be provided for boys and girls in every school.