Playing With Children's Future: High Court Imposes ₹1 Lakh Cost On Bengaluru's Brigade School For Delayed Compliance Of Its Order

The Karnataka High Court on Friday saddled the Brigade School in Bengaluru's Malleshwaram area with Rs 1 lakh cost for failure to comply with its interim order requiring it to permit petitioner's daughter to attend classes. She was deprived of attending classes on account of non-submission of an undertaking from the parents, which the school wanted.

A division bench of Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice Krishna S Dixit directed the amount to be deposited with the Chief Ministers Fund, within two weeks.

The petitioner claimed that although he had intimated the interim order to the school authorities, no response was forthcoming from the latter, due to which his child, who is a 9th Grade student, was unable to attend classes.

The counsel for the respondent however filed a compliance affidavit stating that the school had passed a resolution for allowing the child in question to attend classes, once it came to know about the Order. The respondent school authorities tendered an unconditional apology, and undertook that the child shall be permitted to attend school without any hindrance.

Additionally, the counsel for the respondents submitted before the Court that the 'academic loss' of the child, as well as other students who were unable to attend the classes for a considerable period, would be compensated through remedial measures including by arranging extra classes and extra tests for the students.

While taking note of the fact that the contempt petition could be closed at this juncture, the Court opined that 'simplictor closure' of the contempt would not do 'complete justice in the matter'. 

"We say this for a specific reason and the reason is along with the child of the petitioner and entire batch of more than 50 students were deprived from attending the classes on account of non-submission of an undertaking which the school wanted to be obtained from the parents. Whether such insistence would be proper or otherwise would be a different question and at the moment we may not go into it," the Court observed.

It took due regard of the fact that as per the present schooling pattern, much importance is attached to 9th class, and that every parent is anxious to see their ward attend 9th and 10th grades without any hindrance. 

"This was an unfortunate incident where a batch of 50 plus students and their parents were subjected to anxiety, a tension and a situation of uncertainty. The loss of these days neither can be counted in terms of money nor can be compensated but atleast a signal must be sent to the society that those who are responsible for such an act, least to say with playing with children's future, cannot be seen by this court with a lighter approach. This court is of the opinion that there must be some sort of signal sent to the society whereby in future not only this society but other educational institutes and societies would not attempt to play with the future of children or would not put the parents under pressure/anxiety or tension," it thus observed, while directing the school to pay the sum of Rs. 1 Lakh to the Chief Minister's Fund within a period of two weeks. 

The matter was thus disposed.

Case Title: Jagdeep Rao AND State of Karnataka & Others

Case No: CCC 1307/2023

Citation No: 2024 LiveLaw (Kar) 7