NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday sought response from the Centre and all state governments on a PIL alleging sudden increase in cases of sexual abuse of children in schools across the country, and also directed them to take immediate steps to check such incidents.
“We are issuing notice as it is for a good cause,” a Bench comprising Chief Justice of India(CJI) H L Dattu and Justice A K Sikri said.
The public interest litigation, filed by Vineet Dhanda through lawyer J P Dhandaa, sought the court’s direction to the Centre and all the state governments to ensure the safety of children in schools and other places.
The plea contended that there was neither any guideline nor any law to hold educational institutions accountable in such cases.
“The more disturbing part is that the educational institutions have no liability whatsoever fixed by law in case of such offences on their premises and even the police go out of the way to protect such schools,” the PIL said.