Chhattisgarh High Court: In a suo motu public interest litigation (‘PIL’) regarding the poor condition of government school toilets in Bilaspur, the Division Bench of Ramesh Sinha, CJ., and Bibhu Datta Guru, J., took note of a reported incident wherein a three-year old girl child died due an iron pipe, kept along with other DJ equipment unlawfully dumped within the Anganwadi premises, fell upon her. The Court directed the District Magistrate, Bilaspur, to file an affidavit by the next date of hearing, indicating the steps taken, the responsibility of the officials concerned, and the action proposed or initiated against those found at fault.
Background
On 27-01-2025, the Court took suo motu cognizance due to a news item published in Dainik Bhaskar, regarding the poor condition of Government Schools in Bilaspur. Clean toilets are mandatory in schools, but more than 150 government schools in Bilaspur did not have toilets. There were more than 200 schools where the toilets were not usable. Except for a few schools, all the other schools had common toilets for male and female teachers. Due to this, female teachers drank less water so that they did not have to go to the toilet, whereas some female staff used the toilets of neighbouring houses.
During the pendency of the present PIL, on 22-08-2025, a news report was published in Bilaspur Bhaskar about a three-year-old girl child sustaining a grievous head injury when an iron pipe, kept along with other DJ equipment unlawfully dumped within the Anganwadi premises, fell upon her while she was playing. She later succumbed to her injury during the treatment at the hospital.
The news item further indicated that the matter was initially suppressed by the authorities of the Women and Child Development Department and the local police. After seven days, upon receipt of the post-mortem report confirming head injury as the cause of death, an FIR was registered against the concerned DJ operator.
The State contended that the mishap occurred as the DJ equipment had been placed inside the Anganwadi premises by a relative of one of its employees.
Analysis
Taking note of the aforesaid, the Court directed the District Magistrate, Bilaspur, to file an affidavit by the next date of hearing, indicating the steps taken, the responsibility of the officials concerned, and the action proposed or initiated against those found at fault. The affidavit shall further disclose whether any compensation has been paid to the family of the deceased child, and if not, the stage at which such consideration presently stands, as well as the measures being put in place to prevent recurrence of such incidents in Anganwadi Centres.
The matter was listed for 26-08-2025.
[In the Matter of Suo Moto Public Interest Litigation v. State of Chhattisgarh, 2025 SCC OnLine Chh 8336, decided on 22-08-2025]
Advocates who appeared in this case:
For the respondent: Dy. Advocate General Shashank Thakur and Advocate T.K. Jha counsel for the Intervener
