The Calcutta High Court has directed a petitioner to send notice to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Chancellor of Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan, along with other University officials in connection with an incident where a class V student of the University’s Patha Bhavan was forced to drink her urine by her hostel warden as a punishment for bedwetting.
Tapas Bhanja, a lawyer, had filed a Public Interest Litigation petition in connection with the incident, bringing to the Court’s notice the violation of its directive in 2004 that banned corporal punishment in the schools of the State. “The Court directed me to serve contempt petition to all the alleged contemnors stating that the matter will be heard on July 27,” Mr. Bhanja, told The Hindu .
Along with the Prime Minister, notice has been issued to University Vice-Chancellor Professor Sushanta Dutta Gupta, Registrar Manimukut Mitra and the accused warden, Uma Poddar. The Court has also directed that notice be served to the Secretary of the State’s School Education Department
Earlier the Prime Minister’s Office had sought a report from the Union Human Resource Development Ministry on the incident. The report had been subsequently submitted by the University.
