Hon ble BHANDARI, J.— 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 children.

10. In this petition, i

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