High Court calls for detailed status report from Delhi govt on hoax bomb threat incidents in schools

The Delhi High Court recently sought a detailed status report from the Delhi government on a hoax bomb call incident in private schools. The High Court has also warned that if the status report is not filed, the joint secretary-level officer will be present in court.

The Delhi High Court recently sought a detailed status report from the Delhi government on a hoax bomb call incident in private schools. The High Court has also warned that if the status report is not filed, the joint secretary-level officer will be present in court. The High Court is hearing a petition moved by advocate Arpit Bhargav, whose child studies at Delhi Public School. He has sought direction for the formulation of an action plan and its implementation in a time-bound manner due to bomb threat calls in schools in the past years.

Justice Subramonium Prasad issued the direction to the Delhi government to file a detailed status report and listed the matter on May 3 for further hearing. During the hearing, the bench noted that Delhi police had filed a reply, but no reply hasbeen filed on behalf of GNCTD.

"The reply of GNCTD is necessary for laying down a proper and detailed action plan to deal with bomb threats and other disasters to ensure the safety of children studying in schools," Justice Prasad said in the order of April 1. The bench directed the GNCTD to file the Status Report positively on or before April 29, 2024.

"If the status report is not filed, an officer not below the rank of Joint Secretary from the Education Department shall be present in court to explain as to why the status report has not been filed within time," the bench warned. In May last year, the bench sought a status report from Delhi Police. The High Court had also been directed to file an action plan for dealing with such incidents.

Advocate Beena Shaw N Saini appeared for the petitioner. The petitioner's child studies at Delhi Public School. She submitted that such incidents cause extreme trauma and stress to the parents. The bench had called for a status report from Delhi police in a petition related to hoax emails related to Bombs.

The high court had also sought a complete action plan to deal with the issue in six weeks. The petitioner said he is aggrieved by the inactions and lackadaisical approach of the Delhi Government and Delhi Police in dealing with frequent bomb threat emails received in schools in Delhi and the consequent failure of authorities to ensure the safety and security of children,teachers, staff and other stakeholders in schools in Delhi and to avoid its recurrence leading to extreme trauma, stress, harassment, inconvenience and fear in the minds of all, including the petitioner whose child is studying in DPS Mathura Road, where one such incident took place recently on April 26, 2023.

The petitioner has sought the formulation of a detailed action plan and implementation of the same by the government and police, as there is no action plan that the petitioner could see anywhere in relation to such incidents, which can cause havoc in anyone's family and have a large impact. The action plan is in relation to dealing with such repeated incidents of bomb threats in schools across Delhi and to preparing for regular evacuation drills and other exercises to be undertaken for the safety and security of children studying in schools who are ill-equipped to deal with such disasters, the petition submitted.

Petitioner Arpit Bhargav has also sought steps that have been taken by the Delhi Police in the recent past to avoid repetition in the future in relation to bomb threat emails received in schools in Delhi. He has also sought direction from the Delhi government and Delhi police to identify miscreants, take strict action against such persons and fix accountability in a time-bound manner so that regular schooling is not disturbed every now and then due to such hoax bomb threats by a few who are taking the system to ransom.

In November 2022, a miscreant emailed about the presence of a bomb in the Indian School, Sadiq Nagar. However, it turned out to be a hoax. On April 12, 2023, an email was received at the Indian School, Sadiq Nagar, in relation to the presence of a bomb on the school premises.

However, as per media reports, it again turned out to be a hoax and ever since then, thereThere has been no response from either the Government or police disclosing the stepstaken to avoid the recurrence of such incidents. Not only this, as per media reports, till date, Delhi police itself is not aware of the identity of the perpetrator, the petition said. On May 11, 2023, another email was received at DPS Mathura Road in relation to the presence of a bomb in the school premises where the child of the petitioner studies. However, it again turned out to be a hoax.

Concerted efforts and mechanisms need to be put in place to eliminate the chances of such incidents being repeated again especially when the concerned area is the schools where the future generation is in the process of being nurtured, the petitioner said. If the children studying in schools are under repeated and constant threat, it is the collective failure of one and all to provide a safe environment to them, he added.

The petition submitted that the Urgent need of the hour is to address the issue (s) raised in the instant petition without any further delay and to have a detailed action plan formulatedin regard to such incidents of bomb threats in schools and implement the same in a time bound manner with detailed Standard Operating Procedures to be followed for one and all, including regular evacuation drills involving each and every parent and child, automatic intimation in case of emergency instead of manual calling, streamlining processes outside schools to eliminate the chance of chaos and such other improvements. suggestions can also be obtained from all the parents/teachers (without disclosing their identity) by involving them and other stakeholders in the policy-making process, the petitioner submitted. (ANI)

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