The Bombay High Court (HC) on Tuesday, June 24, told the state education department to send officers to schools across Maharashtra to check if they are following the government resolution (GR) issued on May 13.
The division bench of Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Dr Neela Gokhale said officers must submit reports on each school to the court every four months. These reports should include data from every school in all cities and talukas. The court asked the state to set up a system for reporting and to provide a format for the reports.
The expert committee was formed in September 2024. It had 18 members and was led by retired high court judges Shalini Phansalkar-Joshi and Sadhana Jadhav. Other members included retired IPS officer Meeran Borwankar, commissioners for women and child welfare, education officials, school principals, NGO workers, a psychiatrist, and parent representatives.The committee gave these suggestions:
Background checks of school staff
Schools being responsible for safe transport
Installation of CCTV cameras
Teaching students to identify cybercrime
Good touch and bad touch.
Toll-free helpline 1098 to be displayed clearly
The court had asked the state in February 2025 to respond to the committee's recommendations. On Tuesday, the government informed the court that the GR was issued on May 13 after reviewing the expert panel's report.
In response, the judges said the GR was not easy to find on the government website. They said even they had trouble locating it. They said schools should send the GR to parents just like report cards.