Muslim boy slapping row: SC slams UP govt for not counselling victim's classmates
New Delhi, Feb 10: The Supreme Court slammed the Uttar Pradesh government on Friday for not counselling students who were allegedly instructed by their school teacher to slap a Muslim boy for not doing his homework.
Observing that there has been a complete breach of its directions by the Uttar Pradesh government, a bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan directed the state to counsel the children who witnessed the incident and file a compliance affidavit in two weeks.
"We have perused the latest TISS report, which calls for the counselling of all the students who had taken part in the corporal punishment as participants and witnesses. Nothing has been done by the state, it is too late in the day now.
"We direct the state to immediately implement the directions, especially for the witness children. Compliance affidavit to be filed in two weeks," the bench said while posting the matter for hearing on March 1.
Additional Advocate General of Uttar Pradesh Garima Prashad said two organisations have volunteered for counselling the students and sought time to file a more detailed affidavit.
The court had earlier castigated the state government for not complying with its order to depute an agency for counselling the Muslim boy and his classmates who were allegedly instructed by their school teacher to slap him for not doing his homework.
The woman teacher of the school in Muzaffarnagar district has also been accused of hurling communal slurs at the victim boy.
The top court had appointed the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai to suggest the mode and manner of counselling the boy and his classmates.
The Muzaffarnagar Police had registered a case against the teacher for allegedly making communal remarks against the Muslim boy and instructing his classmates to slap him. The school was also served a notice by the state's education department.
The teacher was booked after a video purportedly showed her asking the students to slap the Class-2 boy in Khubbapur village and also making a communal remark.
The apex court had, on November 6 last year, asked the Uttar Pradesh government to facilitate the admission of the boy to a private school.
It was hearing a plea filed by Tushar Gandhi, the great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, seeking speedy investigation in the case.
On October 30 last year, the court had directed the state government to immediately decide on granting sanction to prosecute the teacher.
The court had referred to the assertions made in an affidavit filed by the victim's father that the boy was "severely traumatised" and asked Additional Solicitor General K M Nataraj to take instructions on the availability of an expert agency like the NIMHANS and TISS, which could go to the victim's village and counsel him and the other students.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Vartha Bharati–Sankalp predictions align closely with Karnataka bypoll results
Bengaluru: The Vartha Bharati–Sankalp election analysis has shown a high level of accuracy in predicting the outcome of the recent Karnataka Assembly by-elections held in May 2026, correctly calling winners in both constituencies and closely estimating vote share trends.
The by-elections were held in Bagalkot and Davanagere South, drawing significant political attention as both seats were seen as key tests for the ruling Congress and opposition BJP.
According to the analysis, Vartha Bharati–Sankalp had made three major projections ahead of the results the winning party, vote share percentages, and margin of victory.
In both constituencies, the platform accurately predicted that the Congress would emerge victorious. The outcome matched the projections, with Congress candidates winning in Bagalkot and Davanagere South.
In terms of vote share, the predictions were largely in line with the final results. In Bagalkot, the BJP’s vote share was forecast in the range of 40 to 46 per cent, while the actual figure stood at 42.9 per cent. The Congress vote share, however, exceeded expectations, with the party securing 55.4 per cent against a projected range of 43 to 48 per cent.
The margin of victory in Bagalkot turned out to be significantly higher than anticipated. While the projection had placed the margin between 2,000 and 3,500 votes, the final margin was around 22,332 votes.
In Davanagere South, the predictions also remained largely accurate. The Congress vote share was projected between 43 and 51 per cent, and the final figure stood at 43.9 per cent. The BJP was expected to secure between 42 and 50 per cent but ended with 40.3 per cent.
The analysis had also identified the role of SDPI as a potential spoiler in the constituency. While its vote share was estimated around 6 per cent, the party eventually secured around 12 per cent of the vote.
The margin of victory in Davanagere South was predicted to be between 1,500 and 2,600 votes. The actual margin was higher at around 5,708 votes, though the contest remained relatively close as anticipated.
Overall, the performance of Vartha Bharati–Sankalp stood out for correctly identifying the winning parties in both seats and maintaining close accuracy in vote share estimates, with only limited deviations in specific cases.
