‘Poor Victims Rarely Get Justice’: Madras HC Orders Fresh Probe Into 5-Year-Old’s Death In School

The case came before the court after the child’s father sought transfer of the probe to the CB-CID.

File photo of Madras High Court. (Credits: X)

Highlighting concerns over fairness in the justice system, the Madras High Court has ordered a fresh investigation into the death of a five-year-old UKG student inside a school campus in Tenkasi earlier this month.

The court stressed that victims are entitled to a fair investigation, calling it a key part of the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution. Justice B Pugalendhi directed the Superintendent of Police, Tenkasi, to withdraw the case from the local police and assign it to a sincere senior officer, according to a report by Live Law.

The case came before the court after the child’s father sought transfer of the probe to the CB-CID. He alleged that his daughter’s death was not an accident, as claimed by the school, but a pre-planned murder. He also said the police did not act fairly and that the school authorities failed to inform him about the incident, according to a report by Live Law.

As per the school management, the child was hit by a car that entered the campus. They claimed two individuals had come to meet a staff member and drove the vehicle in a rash and negligent manner. However, the father questioned how the car was allowed inside and why the CCTV footage was not shared with him.

The government told the court that CCTV footage had been collected and the accused identified. It also said the car entered despite objections from the school watchman.

During the hearing, the Madras High Court made strong remarks on the current state of education. Justice Pugalendhi said, “Goddess Saraswati is considered to be a symbol of education, and imparting education was considered to be holy for some time in this country. Nowadays, it has become a lucrative business”.

The court also pointed out serious lapses by both the school and the police. It observed that the school did not inform the child’s father or the police in time and may have allowed the accused to escape. The judge noted that if the vehicle details had been shared earlier, the accused could have been caught immediately.

Taking a critical view of the police investigation, the court said, “…this court is also having a reasonable doubt that the respondent police has not acted in a proper manner as expected from them. Normally, in this system poor victims rarely get justice…this court is of the view that this is a fit case for transfer of investigation,”.

The High Court directed that CCTV footage be provided to the petitioner and asked the new investigating officer to examine school staff, students and the watchman to establish the exact sequence of events. It also ordered that progress in the investigation, along with the postmortem report, be shared with the family.

The court further allowed the petitioner to approach it again if the investigation is not carried out properly.

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