The Chhattisgarh High Court initiated a suo-motu case in response to a newspaper article highlighting the crumbling state of a primary school building and the risk of electrocution faced by the students attending the school.

The news article further reports that students at the Government Primary School in Tukardih (Bilaspur) are at risk of electrocution. It highlights how the crumbling roof of the school, combined with illegal electrical wires that run over the building and make contact with the roof, creates a perilous environment for the 139 children attending the school.

“The building has become dilapidated and adjacent to the school building; the transformer has been installed from where most of the villagers have taken illegal connections. Since the illegal connections go over the building and touches the roof of the school building, there is supply of current in the roof.”, the news item states.

The news item also noted that, despite numerous complaints made to the electricity department regarding the illegal connections running over the school building, no action has been taken to date. This inaction has put the lives of the 139 students at serious risk.

Expressing serious concerns for the students' safety, the bench, led by Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Bibhu Datta Guru, instructed the Secretary of the School Education Department of the Chhattisgarh Government to submit a personal affidavit on the issue. The Advocate General was also granted additional time to obtain the necessary instructions regarding the matter.

Case Title: In the matter of Suo Moto Public Interest Litigation versus State of Chhattisgarh & Others, WPPIL No. 75 of 2024