On Tuesday, the Karnataka High Court issued a directive to the state government, instructing them to submit a detailed response outlining the measures taken to address the staffing vacancies for wardens and superintendents in government hostels catering to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students within the state.

During the hearing of a suo-motu petition, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice Krishna S Dixit granted the government a two-week extension to submit its affidavit or statement of objection.

The court also noted the remarks made by amicus curiae Advocate Nitin Ramesh, who emphasized that the matter raised in the petition, specifically the shortage of staff, particularly wardens or superintendents in government hostels for SC/ST students, should be examined from an additional perspective. According to Ramesh, the identified shortage of staff, as acknowledged by the court, could potentially impede the academic progress of students, raising concerns about the protection of children's rights.

Additionally, he submitted that the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights has issued a report outlining regulatory guidelines concerning the State's responsibilities in managing hostels.

The bench reminded the State of an order issued last year, wherein the state was instructed to conduct a comprehensive backlog recruitment drive across all government departments and institutions. The directive emphasized the urgency of completing this initiative promptly, setting an outer limit of 6 months for its execution.

The court had initiated suo-motu proceedings based on a news report dated December 7, 2023. The report highlighted that despite specific guidelines for staffing concerning the student capacity in these hostels, social welfare departments were not appointing personnel. The report further disclosed that out of the 1296 pre-metric hostels and 1165 post-metric hostels, the number of superintendents and wardens was less than 1200, leading to a shortage of essential human resources and causing significant harm to the academic pursuits of the students.

Case Title: HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AND State of Karnataka & ANR

Case No: WP 27797/2023