Decide school safety guidelines in 3 months, SC tells Centre

The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Centre to decide in three months on demands for framing safety guidelines for schools, as sought by the father of a sevenyear-old boy who was killed in a Gurgaon school, and some lawyers.

The top court said the decision taken by the government should cover both public and private schools. A bench of justice Adarsh Kumar Goel and justice RF Nariman said the court was not an expert on framing of policy or guidelines for schools and it would be appropriate if the government looks into the cause raised in various writ petitions.

“We direct ministry of human resource development (HRD) to look into the prayers in the PILs and consider taking a decision in three months. The decision taken shall be for both government as well as private schools,” the bench said.

Earlier, the apex court had sought compilation of norms formulated by the Centre and states for its consideration. It had asked all the states and Union Territories to file their responses on the PILs filed by father of the deceased child, some lawyers and organistions. Three states — Haryana, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh — have filed their responses in the case.

SUCH GUIDELINES WERE SOUGHT BY THE FATHER OF A SEVENYEAROLD BOY WHO WAS KILLED IN A GURGAON SCHOOL, AND SOME LAWYERS; HARYANA HAS ALREADY FILED ITS RESPONSE