MP High Court demands state govt response to alleged strip-search of students

K K Jha

Indore: The Madhya Pradesh High Court issued a notice to the state government on Friday regarding an incident in an Indore school where students were allegedly strip-searched by a teacher to identify who had brought a mobile phone to class. Justices Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Duppala Venkata Ramana of the Indore bench of MP HC took this action in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by social activist Chinmoy Mishra.
The court’s notice requires the state government to submit a report within a week detailing the steps taken in connection with the alleged incident. During the hearing, Mishra’s lawyer, Abhinav Dhanodkar, asserted that the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act had not been complied with, despite parents filing a police complaint on August 2.

The PIL emphasizes the need for compliance with the POCSO Act and requests that the court issue appropriate directions for swift action in such cases. According to the complaint, on August 2, a teacher allegedly escorted at least five female students to the washroom and strip-searched them after a mobile phone rang in a classroom at a government higher secondary school.

Following the parents’ complaint lodged at Malharganj police station, which also accused the teacher of assault during the strip search, the teacher was removed from the school and reassigned to the district education office.