‘Charges must not be watered down,’ the SC declares in reference to the Muslim boy who was slapped at school

The Supreme Court said on Monday after hearing the Muzaffarnagar child slapping case that a senior IPS officer should be appointed to oversee the inquiry. The top court said that if the incident’s claims are accurate, “Uttar Pradesh’s conscience should be shocked.”

If a pupil is merely being punished because he or she belongs to a certain group, the highest court said, there cannot be any quality education.

Justices Abhay S. Oka and Pankaj Mithal’s panel ordered Uttar Pradesh to make sure that the victim receives appropriate counseling from a licensed counselor as well as the pupils who were forced to participate in the event. The state cannot expect the kid to remain in the same school, the court said.

According to the report, the Uttar Pradesh government appears to have violated the Right to Education Act’s requirements for providing quality, free, and required education to children up to the age of 14 without regard to caste, creed, or gender.

The court described the incidence as “serious” and ordered the state administration to provide a status report on the RTE Act’s implementation in state schools within four weeks.

It was considering a request for a quick probe in the matter made by Tushar Gandhi, the great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi.

The Muzaffarnagar Superintendent of Police was instructed to file a status report in the matter by the top court on September 6.

It had requested information from the SP regarding the steps taken to safeguard the student and his parents. The Uttar Pradesh government was also sent with a notice by the top court, which requested a response by September 25.

Tripta Tyagi, a teacher at a private school in the Khubbapur hamlet of Muzaffarnagar, was seen on camera making racial remarks and telling her Class 2 pupils to smack their Muslim classmate. On Saturday, Tyagi, who purportedly owns the school as well, was detained by Muzaffarnagar Police.

In a classroom at Neha Public School, Tyagi was seen instructing her pupils to slap the youngster in the video, which went viral on social media and caused a huge uproar.

Tripta Tyagi, who identified herself as “handicapped,” said that the video had been altered in an effort to inflame resentment. She admitted that getting a kid slapped by classmates was inappropriate on her side, but said that she was compelled to do it because of her disability and was unable to rise up and approach the student who hadn’t completed his assignment.

The instructor had been detained by Muzaffarnagar Police. The state education department also sent the school a warning in relation to the situation.