By Matters India Reporter
Jabalpur, June 28, 2023: The Madhya Pradesh high court June 28 ordered the state police to demolish a boundary wall they built seven days ago that blocked access to a Catholic school.
A single bench of Justice Sanjay Dwivedi also directed the police to make immediate access to St John’s Senior Secondary School with more than 2,300 students in the Damoh district of the central Indian state.
The wall forced the school to start online classes.
School principal Sister Sophy Bharat said the police on June 22 night came with workers and built the boundary wall in front of the school’s main gate that prevented the students’ entry.
The students and parents, who reached the school the next day, were forced to return, unable to enter the school campus.
“We then started online classes to avoid any loss to the students,” Sister Bharat told Matters India on June 28.
The school is managed by the Servite Sisters Society under the diocese of Jabalpur. It is some 250 km northeast of Bhopal, the state capital.
“Now, we are happy that the High court has ordered the police to demolish the boundary wall they constructed overnight without any prior intimation,” said a much-relieved nun.
The high court’s order says, “Looking to the interest of students and also of the general public, I am directing the respondents to provide an access to the school students to reach the school for a further period of 30 days.”
“In the meantime, the petitioner may also file a civil suit claiming right over the land and also move an application for injunction before the competent court and till then the respondents are directed to provide access by demolishing that portion of the boundary wall which is just in front of the school and covers the road, which would make it accessible to the commuters,” the order added.
The court wants the police to comply with the order immediately “without wasting any further time so as to avoid any loss to the students of their studies.”
Anshman Singh, the school’s lawyer, told the court that the road closed by the police has been used by the school since 1989 and it was used not only by those going to the school but the general public without any hurdle or objection from the authorities.
He also said the administration had built the road and none had objected to anyone using the land by the school or others. “But all of a sudden, a boundary wall has been constructed” by the police authorities saying that the land of the road belongs to the police department,” the lawyer pointed out.
He also asserted that the road is public and that it cannot be closed “in such a manner.
The police lawyer justified the construction of the wall, saying the land did not belong to the school but to the police department. The court directed the police and others named as respondents in the case to provide a way to the school.
The school for boys and girls was started in 1983 and over the years it became one of the premier educational institutions in Damoh.
“The school has withstood the test of time and each student has become a pillar of this institution. The institution is known for its excellence in discipline, education, training and leadership,” claims the school’s website.