BENGALURU: The High Court on Tuesday asked the state government to clarify which guidelines the schools must follow to ensure safety of children.
The court was hearing a petition filed by various schools and school associations challenging the guidelines issued by the police in July 2014 to ensure safety of school students.
The schools pleaded that while the police issued guidelines on measures to be followed by them, the education department and public information department too issued separate guidelines. The guidelines issued by the police were for schools within the city while the departmental guidelines were applicable for schools across the state. The schools said that both the guidelines were overlapping and confusing. Hence, they pleaded for clarity.
Judge Recuses from Seer Case
The state government on Tuesday told the High Court that Raghaveshwara Bharati Swami of Ramachandrapur Mutt, who has been accused of sexual abuse by one of his devotees, is not cooperating with the investigation.
The government made the statement before a division bench of Chief Justice D H Waghela and Justice Ram Mohan Reddy during hearing of the petition filed by the seer seeking quashing of the proceedings against him.
However, the hearing was adjourned after Justice Reddy recused himself from the hearing.
In the morning session, defense counsel B V Acharya, citing the statement of the victim that she was raped 168 times in 40 locations, argued that being a 48-year-old educated woman, she never complained before of being raped so many times, as she had now claimed.
On these contentions, the court questioned the defence if they are alleging that it was a consensual relationship.
Objecting to the argument, Advocate-General Ravi Varma Kumar contended that the case cannot be said to be consensual as investigation was initiated only after the complaint of the victim. Kumar also submitted that the government may approach the court seeking cancellation of the seer’s anticipatory bail.