CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has not been able to proceed with the PIL regarding the death of a Class IV student of a government school in Jajpur after being forced to do sit-ups as a form of punishment owing to failure of the state government to file counter affidavit within the two months’ time.
The tragic incident occurred nine months back. Rudra Narayan Sethi (10), a student of Surya Narayan nodal upper primary school in Orali, died on November 21, 2023.
Rudra and seven other students, who forgot to bring books to school, were ordered by assistant teacher Jyotirmayee Panda to do sit ups on that day. Rudra collapsed while doing the sit ups. He was taken to the nearby community health centre at Rasulpur. Doctors there referred him to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack, but he was declared dead there.
An inquiry was conducted into the incident after it was reported in the media. The block education officer submitted a report to the district education officer confirming the physical punishment. Jyotirmayee Panda was placed under suspension on November 24, 2023.
The case reached the high court with advocate Prabir Kumar Das, a Bhubaneswar-based human rights activist filing the PIL seeking the direction for enforcing Section 17 (1) of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 in the schools of the state citing Rudra’s death. Section 17 (1) of the Act mandates that no child shall be subjected to physical punishment or mental harassment.
The high court first issued notices to the state government to file counter affidavit to the PIL on June 26 within eight weeks and fixed August 21 for hearing on the matter. But the state government sought more time when the petition came up for hearing on that day.
The two-judge bench of Chief Justice Chakradhari Sharan Singh and Justice Savitri Ratho adjourned hearing on the matter to September 4, 2024.