Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Indore Bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court has directed the State government to appoint an official government translator and conduct a fresh investigation into allegations of exploitation and mismanagement at the Government ITI (Muk Badhir) Centre in Indore, which caters to deaf and mute students.
Hearing a PIL filed by Satish Kumar Likhariya, Division Bench comprising Justice Vijay Kumar Shukla and Justice Alok Awasthi ordered that a government-appointed translator for deaf and mute students be provided to the District Legal Aid Services Authority (DALSA) secretary within 15 days. The court further directed that, after the appointment, the DALSA secretary must conduct a fresh inspection within 10 days, accompanied by the official translator, and submit a comprehensive report.
The petitioner raised serious concerns regarding alleged mistreatment of disabled students, along with administrative failures and mismanagement at the vocational training institute. Earlier, the HS had directed the DALSA secretary to inspect the facility and submit a report. However, on February 3, the secretary informed the court that the inspection was delayed due to the non-availability of a specialist government translator.
Subsequently, the DALSA secretary conducted a visit on February 12 and submitted a report on February 13, stating that no major mismanagement was found and that earlier issues had been resolved. This finding was strongly objected to by the petitioner s counsel, Shanno Shagufta Khan.
The petitioner pointed out two key flaws in the earlier inquiry: first, that a private translator was used instead of a government-appointed one, raising doubts about neutrality; and second, that despite claims that the matter had been referred to police, no concrete action had been taken against the alleged perpetrators.
Teacher removed, matter forwarded to cops
State counsel Pradyumna Kibe informed the court that corrective steps had been initiated, including termination of interpreter and guest faculty member Indra Jatava, referral of the matter to the concerned police station, repairs and sanitation of toilets in the ITI and hostel, and installation of RO systems, drinking water coolers and geysers.
