CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has summoned the Joint Director of the Elementary Education department and the Pudukottai District Elementary Education Officer on February 2 in connection with the case relating to collapse of the roof of a school building at Thirugokarnam in Pudukottai.

"Dilapidated building"

About 40 children, out of about 150 students seated inside a "dilapidated building" were injured in the incident on January 22, according to a public interest litigation petition filed by T.R.K. Muthuraman of Pudukottai. The First Bench comprising Chief Justice A.P. Shah and Justice K. Chandru gave the direction on the PIL, which sought to punish the management of the private school, besides taking appropriate action against the Education department authorities who had failed to ensure that the school complied with the mandatory safety measures.

Inquiry ordered

The judges also directed the District Collector to hold an inquiry into the incident, and provide quality medical treatment to the injured.

When the matter was taken up for admission on Monday, counsel for the petitioner submitted that Sri Venkateswara Nursery and Primary School had neither applied for nor obtained recognition to function from the site where the collapse occurred. Children, numbering more than three times the capacity of the building, had been seated in the building, which was over 50 years old.

No proper administration

Referring to the fire tragedy at a school in Kumbakonam and the recommendations of a committee appointed to go into the incident, the petitioner said the authorities had failed to ensure proper administration of schools. No one from the management side had been arrested. The authorities, who had failed to discharge their duties diligently, also needed to be proceeded against. Besides seeking appropriate action against the respondent-authorities and the school management, the petitioner prayed for a direction to the Education Secretary to implement the recommendations of the Justice Sampath Committee, which went into the Kumbakonam fire tragedy.

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