The Supreme Court on September 6, 2023, had directed the Muzaffarnagar Superintendent of Police to submit a status report on the investigation in the case of a student being allegedly slapped by his classmates on the instructions of his teacher.
As reported by LiveLaw, the Supreme Court is hearing the case today, May 10, with Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan presiding over the matter.
The court has made it clear today that considering the nature of the FIR, the home ministry will nominate an appropriate senior IPS officer to ensure that prosecution is properly conducted by the State.
Previously, the State of Uttar Pradesh had informed the Court that the chargesheet against the offender was ready and only sanction from the concerned authority was awaited.
What had happened?
The Muzaffarnagar Police had booked a teacher accused of making communal comments and ordering her students to slap a Muslim classmate for not doing his homework.
As per the viral video, fellow students were seen slapping a 7-year-old at the behest of the teacher of a private school who referred to his faith in a derogatory manner.
The teacher, Tripta Tyagi, was booked a day after a video showed her asking her students to slap the Class 2 boy in Khubbapur village and also making a communal remark.
The school was also served a notice by the state education department in connection with the matter.
The student's father had registered a complaint against the teacher at Asmoli police station under Sections 323 and 153-A (promoting enmity on the basis of religion) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Tushar Gandhi had filed a PIL
The apex court was hearing a PIL filed by Tushar Gandhi, the great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, seeking speedy investigation in the student slapping case.
The PIL sought directions for a time-bound and independent investigation in the incident and setting up guidelines for preventing violence against students belonging to religious minorities in schools.
The top court had also issued notice to the Uttar Pradesh government and sought its reply by September 25.
A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Pankaj Mithal asked the SP to inform it about measures taken to protect the student and his parents.
Investigation had been completed, said judges
Additional Solicitor General K.M. Nataraj, appearing for the government on Monday, November 6, had previously apprised the court that the investigation had been completed and charges under Section 295A (outraging religious feelings or insulting religious beliefs) of the Indian Penal Code and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 had been added.
