Bombay HC extends relief for schools holding online classes for students up to Class 2

The Court granted petitioner Parent Teachers Association to assess within three weeks the new government decision that allowed online classes for students up to class 2 with a daily 30-minute session for five days a week

Bombay HC said that the schools shall not take any coercive action against parents of students of class 2 and below, who are not willing to force their children to attend online classes. File

The Bombay High Court on Monday extended interim order by three weeks that directed the Maharashtra government that it shall not take any coercive action against those schools conducting online classes for students up to class 2. The court granted petitioner Parent Teachers Association to assess within three weeks the new government decision that allowed online classes for students up to class 2 with a daily 30-minute session for five days a week.

While granting interim relief to schools on July 13, the court also said that the schools shall not take any coercive action against parents of students of class 2 and below, who are not willing to force their children to attend online classes.

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A division bench of Justices Nitin M Jamdar and Riyaz I Chagla was hearing through video conference a plea filed by Parents Teachers Associations of United Forum and others through senior counsel Mihir Desai and advocate Swaraj Jadhav, which sought to set aside June 15 Government Resolution (GR) which prescribed that schools for students up to class 2 would not be started.

The state government on June 15 had declared the start of the new academic year for state board schools with online classes and allowed the physical reopening of schools from July onwards in rural pockets and those located at a distance from cities that haven’t had a single Covid case for over a month.

On Monday, Assistant Government Pleader Bhupesh V Samant informed the Court that the state government had issued a new GR on July 22 and had allowed online teaching for students up to class 2 and the previous GR stands eclipsed with it and sought the plea to be disposed of.

The Bombay high court noted that since the policy or decision has been substantially modified or replaced, the petitioners, if they want to challenge it, will have to file a separate plea. In view of this, the Court disposed of the plea and granted liberty to petitioners to examine the new policy and file a new petition to challenge it.