Supreme Court tells Uttar Pradesh to pay for education of Muslim boy slapped in school
The court said that while the state can convince the school to cover the expenses, the “primary” responsibility is of the government.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Uttar Pradesh government to bear the expenses of the education of a Muslim child from Muzaffarnagar who was slapped multiple times by his classmates at their teacher’s behest in 2023.
A bench of justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said that while the state can convince the school to cover the expenses, the “primary” responsibility is of the government.
“It is the obligation of the State government to pay for tuition fees, cost of uniform books, etc. and transport charges of the child till he completes his school education,” the court said.
The court was hearing a plea filed by Tushar Gandhi seeking action against the school teacher, Tipta Tyagi, for goading students to slap the Muslim student, who was seven years old at the time of the incident.
Tyagi allegedly made derogatory remarks about the Muslim student’s religion and instigated classmates to beat him. The incident had sparked outrage after a video of the child being slapped was shared on social media.
Gandhi sought a time-bound and independent probe into the matter as well as measures to address violence against students from religious minorities.
The state, represented by additional advocate general (AAG) Garima Parshad, said that the state government has been bearing the expenses of the child, who has since been shifted to a prominent public school in Muzaffarnagar.
She said that the earlier orders required the state to bear the expenses of the child only for a year. The state further submitted that it had identified a non-profit organisation to sponsor the child’s education for another academic year as the child is in Class IV.
The bench, however, said, “The primary responsibility of meeting the expenditure of the child’s education is that of the state.”
Soon after the incident, the UP government in October 2023 told the Supreme Court that the school teacher will face criminal charges under Section 295A (deliberate and malicious acts that are intended to outrage religious feelings) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). She later surrendered before a court and was granted bail.
Last year, the Supreme Court suggested that the state find a sponsor to cover the schooling expenses of the student.
During Wednesday’s hearing, senior advocate Shadan Farasat, representing Gandhi, submitted that the state has failed to ensure that the tuition fee and expenses for the child’s school uniform were covered.
“It is embarrassing for them. It’s the State’s responsibility to directly pay to the school,” he submitted.
In response, the state said that Syed Murtaza Memorial Trust had offered to pay for the student. “We can file an affidavit placing it on record. The trust will pay directly to the school,” the state’s counsel said.
However, the court clarified that the state has the primary responsibility to pay for the child’s education till he finishes his schooling. “It is recorded that the trust will take care for one year. We clarify that the primary responsibility of meeting this expenditure is of the State. It will be open to the State to persuade the school authority to make the payment,” it said.
The matter will be taken up for hearing next on October 17.
