The Madhya Pradesh High Court has issued a notice to the state government after taking suo motu cognisance of the alleged non-payment of school fees of a minor gangrape survivor to whom it had promised free education.
The girl was brutally raped by two men in Mandsaur in 2018.
The state government had enrolled the girl and her elder sister to a private school in Indore in 2018, but their fees were paid only for a year, the Times of India reported on February 1.
The private school sent a notice to the Indore district magistrate and the district education department over the outstanding fees of Rs 14 lakh of the two girls and sent a copy to the victim's family for information.
A bench of Chief Justice Ravi Malimath and Justice Vijay Kumar Shukla took cognisance of the news report on February 2.
"The Times of India, Indore edition dated 01.02.2024 reported a news item with regard to the pitiable state of a child rape survivor and as to how she is undergoing harassment despite the assurance given by the State. It is a rather shocking state of affairs. Therefore, the Government Advocate is directed to take notice for the Chief Secretary, Government of Madhya Pradesh, Principal Secretary, Department of School Education as well as the Collector," the court said.
The high court decided to hear the matter as a PIL and directed that a notice be issued to the private school.
Talking to PTI, district collector Ashish Singh on Tuesday said, "The management of the private school says that the notice was issued to the gangrape victim and her sister because of a mistake on their staff's part regarding the outstanding fees. The matter has now been resolved, and the two girls continue to study in the school."
On June 26, 2018, two men abducted the girl, who was eight at the time. They allegedly raped her and attacked her with a sharp weapon. The girl was found lying in a pool of blood in bushes near the city bus stand the next day.
The girl was admitted to a government hospital in Indore for three months and had to undergo multiple surgeries.
