Bombay High Court gives 4 weeks to Maharashtra to fix school safety rules

The Hindu

5 days ago

In a sharp follow-up to its earlier directives after the Badlapur sexual assault case, the Bombay High Court on Tuesday (June 24, 2025) criticised the Maharashtra government for lapses in implementing the school safety measures outlined in the May 13, 2025, Government Resolution (GR). The Court gave the State four weeks to address compliance issues and submit a detailed report.
The GR was issued by the Department of School Education and Sports following the High Court's suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) in August 2024, after two minor girls were sexually assaulted at a school in Badlapur. The Court had directed the formation of an expert committee to overhaul child safety norms in educational institutions.
One of the Court's key concerns was the limited public accessibility of the GR. The Division Bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Neela Gokhale observed that the document was difficult to find online unless one knew the exact keywords. 'The GR needs to reach parents the way report cards are sent. Every parent should be aware of it. Upload it on the education department's website also. We ourselves had to rack our brains to find this GR. If one doesn't know the proper words, it is very difficult to locate,' the Bench said.
Accordingly, the GR mandates that the document be prominently uploaded on the department's website and circulated through Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs) and physical copies to ensure all parents are aware of the safety protocols in place.
Spanning 23 pages, the GR outlines a range of safety protocols aimed at preventing sexual abuse and strengthening institutional accountability. These include enhanced CCTV surveillance at key school locations — such as classroom entrances, corridors, playgrounds, and areas outside washrooms — counselling support for students, prompt response to abuse cases, and improved coordination between schools, parents, and law enforcement.
The GR stipulates that schools must inform the local police or the Special Juvenile Police Unit within one month of becoming aware of any sexual offence involving a child. Non-compliance could attract legal action under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
To raise awareness, the resolution directs schools to educate students on the use of the POCSO e-box—developed by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights—and the Chirag mobile app launched by the Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (MSCPCR) in collaboration with the International Justice Mission. These tools must be promoted on noticeboards and security walls within schools. Students should also be informed about the child helpline number 1098.
During the hearing, the Bench asked, 'Who will monitor the POCSO e-box and Chirag mobile app? Set a format for a reporting mechanism. Check whether all schools have CCTV cameras, whether they are in working condition, whether all schools have buses. You must have data of all the schools you visited and other compliances. Give us data of whatever you have collected so far. We want the data to include all cities and talukas across Maharashtra.'
In response, the State said it would gather data on how many schools have complied with the guidelines.
To ensure robust implementation, the High Court had earlier appointed a panel comprising retired Justices Sadhana Jadhav and Shalini Phansalkar Joshi, along with former IPS officer Meeran Borwankar and a retired school principal. The committee was tasked with recommending strategies for effective enforcement of the POCSO Act in educational settings.
A key element of the GR is the creation of a statewide compliance database. District authorities are directed to track which schools have adopted the safety guidelines and which have been physically inspected. The data will help shape future audits and guide policy decisions.
The Court has now given the Maharashtra government four weeks to address all outstanding concerns and file a compliance report detailing the extent of adherence to the guidelines, the monitoring systems in place, and the progress of data collection.