HC dismisses PIL challenging Delhi govt order of 100 pc physical opening of schools

The High Court on Tuesday dismissed the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the Delhi Government order of 100 per cent physical opening of schools with effect from April 1, 2022, till the time all the schoolgoing children are completely vaccinated.

The bench of Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla on Tuesday dismissed the plea said, "according to us parents are willing to send their wards to schools".

The petition further seeks direction from the Directorate of Education (DoE) to ensure that the schools give the parents of the school-going children a choice in the matter of sending their children to attend physical classes.

Petitioner Advocate Anand Kumar Pandey, practising lawyer states that the decision of the Delhi Government to open fully offline schools for children between the ages of 4-12 years old who are not being administered any vaccination and 12-14 years old whose vaccination has just started and to expose them to the vagaries of COVID-19 that too at a time when the danger of the probable fourth wave is looming large in the light of the emergence of a new variant.

The plea further states that, with the requirement of social distancing norms to be enforced without any commensurate increase in the spatial infrastructure of the schools, hence the social distancing norms will definitely be on a toss putting the lives of these children (4-12 years old and 12-14 years old) at major risk.

This hazardous decision will lead to the violation of the right to live with choiceand dignity guaranteed under Article 21 as the decision to expose one's life to such serious dangers should be one's own and innocent children are incapable of making such choices. Even the parent of the schoolgoing children are not given any choice when the decision of 100% offline school is imposed on them, the plea read.

( With inputs from ANI )

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