The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered education authorities to make sure schools in its jurisdiction handle complaints of bullying based on gender, gender identity and sexual orientation, The Hindu reports. The court said internal committees in every school must cover such complaints, in line with existing Supreme Court guidelines.
The case was brought by a woman whose son, a 16-year-old pupil at a Faridabad school, died in February 2022. She said the boy had been bullied and assaulted by other pupils who saw his artistic interests as effeminate. The court declined to issue new national guidelines, saying binding Supreme Court rules already existed, but noted that guidelines which stayed on paper gave little protection to a child in distress. It told Haryana's school education department to deal with complaints quickly and confidentially and report criminal cases to police.
Source: The Hindu