Gurgaon: The
father of the seven-year-old boy, who was found in a pool of blood with his throat slit inside a washroom on the Bhondsi school campus last September, on Tuesday moved the Punjab and Haryana
High Court, seeking cancellation of the
affiliation and registration of the private cradle.
In his petition filed against the state government, Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the school management, the bereaved father alleged the school had not followed basic safety guidelines, which could have prevented the murder. However, he further alleged, the authorities have not taken any action against the school till date.
Sushil Tekriwal, the
counsel for the petitioner, said they had filed a petition in the Supreme Court soon after the murder last year over security lapses and violation of safety guidelines by the school. Subsequently, responding to the court’s notice, the CBSE had filed an affidavit in October 2017, indicting the school for lapses. “The board, in its report, mentioned that the school had failed to ensure basic security measures as stipulated by the CBSE that could have prevented the tragedy,” claimed Tekriwal. The board had also issued a notice to the school, seeking an explanation as to why provisional affiliation for the secondary and senior secondary level of the school should not be withdrawn for willful violation of the provisions of the affiliation bye-laws of the board.
“The CBSE report also mentioned that the school management had failed to discharge its responsibility; file an FIR or inform the district authorities and the board about the incident. The FIR with regard to the murder was filed by the parents of the Class II boy,” said Tekriwal, adding yet no action had been taken against the school till date.
When no action was taken against the school even after the CBSE’s report, the petitioner had given a representation to the board in November 2017, demanding scrapping of registration and affiliation of the cradle. “In response, the CBSE had replied in December 2017 saying that only the state government could cancel affiliation of the school,” Tekriwal claimed. The petitioner alleged the CBSE had power to revoke the affiliation but yet it was shifting the onus to the state government.
In this regard, the Gurgaon district administration had taken over the administration of the school in October last year for three months. “We had taken over the administration of the school but it was handed back to the management after conducting a safety audit. Action will be taken if any further irregularities are found,” said a senior district official without elaborating on the reasons for not revoking the recognition of the school.
