Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation

2009 Supreme(SC) 685

2009(3) Supreme 142
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
Dalveer Bhandari and Lokeshwar Singh Panta, JJ.
Avinash Mehrotra — Appellant
versus
Union of India & Others — Respondents
Writ Petition (Civil) No. 483 of 2004
Decided on : 13-04-2009

Advocates appeared:
For the Appellant :Golin Gonsalves, Sr. Adv., Anandeshwar Gautam, Prashant Kumar, Advocates.
For the Respondents:Vikas Singh, ASG, Ms. Binu Tamta, Ms. Sushma Suri, Ms. Anil Katiyar, Chandan Kumar (for Gopal Singh), Manish Kumar, Ansar Ahmad Chaudhary, Satya Prakashm Ms. Promila Matta, Mukesh K.Giri, Rajesh Srivastava, Ramesh Babu M.R., Tara Chandra Sharma, Ms. Neelam Sharma, Kishan Datta, Riku Sharma (for M/s. Corporate Law Group), Ravi Prakash Mehrotra, A. Nariarputham, MS. Aruna Mathur (for M/s. Arputham, Aruna & Co.), Abhijit P. Medh, Janaranjan Das, Swetaketu Mishra, Amit Kr. Chawla (for Sanjay R. Hegde), V.G. Pragasam, S.J. Aristotle, Praburama Subramanina, Ranjan Mukherjee, Anil Shrivastav, K.N. Madhusoodhanan, R. Sathish, Ms. Rachana Srivastava, Mohd. Norrullah, Gopal Prasad, Garvesh Kabra, Shrish Kr. Misra, Puskerin, Anuvrat Sharma, Ms. Niranjana Singh, Mrs. D. Bharathi Reddy, T.V. george, Mrs. Anil Katiyar, Ms. Pinky Somnath (for Ms. Hemantika Wahi), G. Prakash, Kh. Nobin Singh, Davind Rao, S. Biswajit Meitei, Vijay Prakash, Rekha Pandey (for D.S. Mahra), U. Hazarika, Satya Mitra, Ms. Sumita Hazarika, Sanjay V. Kharde, Mrs. Naresh Kumar Sharma, Mrs. Asha Gopalan Nair, Advocates.

IMPORTANT POINT
It is the fundamental right of each and every child to receive education free from fear of security and safety. The children cannot be compelled to receive education from an unsound and unsafe building.

Headnote:Constitution of India, 1950 – Articles 21 and 21-A – Public Interest Litigation filed by petitioner praying to bring about safer school conditions in order to protect the rights of life and education guaranteed to all school going children – Public Interest Litigation related to a fire which swept through Lord Krishna Middle School in District Kumbakonam in the city of Madras, Tamil Nadu – The fire started in the school’s kitchen while cooks were preparing mid-day meal – Allegation that ventilation of entire school building was extremely poor with only cement-perforated windows – It took sufficient time for the fire fighters on a crane to break these windows and rescue the few children they could with severe burn injuries – The fire officials described the school as a death trap – Petitioner prayed that along with existing rules regarding safety, some additional rules be framed to strengthen laws to protect the children in school buildings in cases of fire and other kinds of emergencies – Affidavits filed by respondents showed that that even basic fire extinguishing equipments had not been installed in most of schools and that majority of the schools did not have emergency Exits – Evidence on record showed that schools were not following the minimum safety standards prescribed by the Building Code, the Bureau of Indian Standards – Held In view of the importance of Article 21A, it was imperative that education which is provided to children in primary schools should be in the environment of safety – It is the fundamental right of each and every child to receive education free from fear of security and safety – The children cannot be compelled to receive education from an unsound and unsafe building – In view of what happened in Lord Krishna Middle School in District Kumbakonam where 93 children were burnt alive held imperative to direct that safety measures as prescribed by the National Building Code of India, 2005 be implemented by all government and private schools functioning in country – Directions given accordingly. (Paras 34 to 40)
        Right to education – Education today remains liberation – a tool for the betterment of our civil institutions, the protection of our civil liberties, and the path to an informed and questioning citizenry – Right to education attaches to the individual as an inalienable human right – Education remains essential to the life of the individual, as much as health and dignity, and the State must provide it, comprehensively and completely, in order to satisfy its highest duty to citizens. (Paras 25 & 26)
        AIR 2006 SC 1946, (2008) 2 SCC 390, (1997) 10 SCC 549 – Relied upon.
       Facts of the Case :
        Present Public Interest Litigation has been filed by petitioner praying to bring about safer school conditions in order to protect the rights of life and education guaranteed to all school going children. Public Interest Litigation related to a fire which swept through Lord Krishna Middle School in District Kumbakonam in the city of Madras, Tamil Nadu. The fire started in the school’s kitchen while cooks were preparing mid-day meal.
       Findings of the Court :
        In view of the importance of Article 21A, it was imperative that education which is provided to children in primary schools should be in the environment of safety. It is the fundamental right of each and every child to receive education free from fear of security and safety-. The children cannot be compelled to receive education from an unsound and unsafe building-.In view of what happened in Lord Krishna Middle School in District Kumbakonam where 93 children were burnt alive held imperative to direct that safety measures as prescribed by the National Building Code of India, 2005 be implemented by all government and private schools functioning in country. Directions were given accordingly.
       Result : Ordered accordingly.

JUDGMENT

Dalveer Bhandari, J. —

1. This important Public Interest Litigation relates to a fire swept through the Lord Krishna Middle School in District Kumbakonam in the city of Madras, Tamil Nadu. The fire started in the school’s kitchen while cooks were preparing mid-day meal. In order to protect the rights of life and education guaranteed to all school going children under Articles 21 and 21-A, the petitioner has prayed this Court to bring about safer school conditions.

2. It is alleged that Lord Krishna Middle School is one of the thousands of private schools that have sprung up in response to drastic cuts in government spending on education. This building houses more than 900 students in a crowded, thatched-roof building with a single entrance, a narrow stairway, windowless classrooms and only one entrance and exit.

3. The fire had sparked by dry coconut leaves used as firewood in a nearby makeshift kitchen with thatched-roof. The fire had started when the cooks were preparing mid-day meal under a Mid-day meal scheme popular in Tamil Nadu. It is alleged that the ventilation of the entire school building was extremely poor with only cement-perforated windows. It took sufficient time for the fire fighters on a crane to break these windows and rescue the few children they could with severe burn injuries. The kitchen fire rose so high that the thatched roof of the classrooms caught fire and the blazing roof supported by bamboo poles collapsed on the school children and most of them died on the spot.

4. The nearby residents started dousing the flames and trying to rescue children. The school’s narrow, steep stairs and few exists apparently hampered those efforts. The crowd of volunteer rescuers ended up blocking the main door as they tried to help.

5. According to rules, a government-certified engineer is supposed to visit these schools once every two years and issue a “stability certificate” if the building is found to be in good condition and all safety precautions are met. The engineer can refuse to issue the certificate if he finds the safety measures inadequate, losing the school its licence to operate.

6. It is mentioned in the petition that the investigations have revealed that the school in Kumbakonam was last inspected three years ago. The school had a thatched roof in severe violation of building laws. It even had a thatched kitchen close to the thatched classrooms. The fire officials had described the school as a death trap. They said that the victims had no chance of escape when the fire erupted as they were doing their lessons on the top floor. It is alleged that the incidence of Kumbakonam District is not the first of its kind. In the year 1995, a school prize-giving ceremony in a Northern Indian town turned to tragedy when a fire broke out, killing nearly 400 people, many of them children and teenagers. The fire was caused by an electrical short circuit in the town of Dabwali in the state of Haryana, about 150 miles from the National Capital.

7. Flagrant violation of school safety regulations continues in the entire country even four decades after the government pledged to enforce them after a private school building in Madurai caves in, killing 35 school girls and injuring 137.

8. The petitioner has prayed that he has filed this petition with a specific objective that:

(1) each and every child of this country can receive good education free from fear of safety and security,

(2) to ensure that more stringent rules and regulations are framed keeping in mind the safety of the students,

(3) to ensure that such standards of safety are at par with the highest standards set up anywhere in the world; and

(4) to ensure that such standards are in fact enforced regularly for the safety and protection of children in classrooms across the country.

9. The petitioner has submitted that the concerned building by-laws and rules are not followed by most of the schools in the country causing serious safety hazards for the childre

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2009 Supreme(SC) 685

2009(3) Supreme 142SUPREME COURT OF INDIADalveer Bhandari and Lokeshwar Singh Panta, JJ.Avinash Mehrotra — AppellantversusUnion of India & Others — RespondentsWrit Petition (Civil) No. 483 of 2004Decided on : 13-04-2009

IMPORTANT POINT It is the fundamental right of each and every child to receive education free from fear of security and safety. The children cannot be compelled to receive education from an unsound and unsafe building.

Cases Referred (6)

2009(3) Supreme 142
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
Dalveer Bhandari and Lokeshwar Singh Panta, JJ.
Avinash Mehrotra — Appellant
versus
Union of India & Others — Respondents
Writ Petition (Civil) No. 483 of 2004
Decided on : 13-04-2009

IMPORTANT POINT
It is the fundamental right of each and every child to receive education free from fear of security and safety. The children cannot be compelled to receive education from an unsound and unsafe building.