Highlighting the “repeated instances of girls being sexually harassed and assaulted in schools in Haryana”, and stating that schools in the state “were yearning for rooms, electricity, toilets, and even drinking water,” the Punjab and Haryana High Court Friday imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh on the Haryana government.
A bench of Justice Vinod S Bhardwaj also summoned the Principal Secretary, Department of Education and Director, Secondary Education to personally appear before the court and file affidavit specifying the “timelines within which the pending approved works of infrastructure and basic amenities shall be completed by the respondents”.
The directions came on a petition filed by guardians of some students who had moved the court seeking directions to the Haryana government to ensure safety of the children from the dilapidated school buildings that had already been declared unfit and dangerous.
As the matter came up for hearing, the court noticed a “large number of anomalies and inaction by the official respondents in providing the basic amenities/facilities to the students in government schools”. Taking up an additional affidavit filed by the Director General of Secondary Education, the court noticed the surrendering of budget allocation every year.