New Delhi, Sep 29 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to entertain a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking enactment of a comprehensive central law and formulation of uniform guidelines to curb bullying and ragging in schools and pre-university educational institutions across the country.
A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymala Bagchi and V. Mohana said that the apex court had already passed a judgment dealing with the issues raised in the PIL and that a fresh petition could not be entertained merely for implementation of the directions issued earlier.
However, the CJI-led Bench allowed counsel for petitioner Yadavi Aditya Rasiwasiya to submit a representation before the authorities concerned for necessary action.
The PIL, filed through advocate Sujata Kurdukar, sought a writ of mandamus directing the Union government and the states and Union Territories (UTs) to enact suitable and comprehensive legislation to combat child bullying and ragging in schools.
The petition also sought binding guidelines on the lines of the University Grants Commission (UGC) Regulations on Curbing the Menace of Ragging in Higher Educational Institutions, 2009.
The petitioner had argued that there was no comprehensive statutory framework specifically governing bullying in primary and secondary schools and that existing measures were largely advisory or directory in nature.
The plea referred to the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) Guidelines on Preventing Bullying and Cyberbullying, 2024, and relied on the observation therein that “in India, there are no laws that could handle bullying in schools. In other words, bullying is not technically illegal”.
It contended that the existing legal framework, including the Right to Education Act, 2009, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 and the Information Technology Act, 2000, did not provide a comprehensive, proactive mechanism for preventing and addressing school-level bullying and ragging.
The PIL sought constitution of anti-bullying committees and grievance redressal mechanisms in schools, besides mandatory reporting and institutional safeguards for children facing harassment.
The petitioner also relied on the Supreme Court’s earlier interventions concerning ragging in higher educational institutions, including directions that eventually led to the UGC Regulations on Curbing the Menace of Ragging in Higher Educational Institutions, 2009. It was argued that while higher education institutions were governed by a statutory anti-ragging framework, school-going children did not have an equivalent nationwide statutory mechanism.
The petition claimed that academic studies had documented significant prevalence of bullying and victimisation among school-going children in India and referred to various research papers annexed to the plea.
It also relied upon NCPCR’s School Safety and Security Manual and the Ministry of Education’s Guidelines on School Safety and Security, contending that these measures remained advisory in nature and lacked statutory enforceability.
The petitioner had also referred to India’s ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and its obligations concerning protection of children from physical and mental violence and ensuring safe education. The PIL arrayed the Union of India, all states and UTs, besides the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), as respondents.
–IANS
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