PIL in HC to direct Smita Sabharwal to delete controversial tweets

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court’s division bench, comprising CJ Alok Aradhe and Justice J Sreenivas Rao, on Monday adjudicated the PIL petition (at scrutiny stage) filed by social activist Vasundhara Koppula, seeking a direction to IAS officer Smita Sabharwal, member-secretary, Telangana State Finance Commission, to delete controversial insensitive remarks against differently-abled persons through her X account @SmitaSabharwal.

The petitioner also sought a direction to the Principal Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training, Delhi, and the UPSC chairman to take action against Sabharwal for making insensitive, debilitating and deprecating remarks on July 21 this year.

The petitioner in a representation dated July 26 to the DOPT and the UPSC sought action against the IAS officer for violating Rule 3 and Rule 7 of All-India Service (Conduct) Rules, 1968.

Sabharwal had the comments referring to Puja Khedkar, whose candidature was recently cancelled by the UPSC as she allegedly faked her identity to gain more attempts than permitted by the UPSC under disabled quota.

The bench directed the petitioner, who runs Gurthimpu Foundation working to train differently- abled persons in skill development and entrepreneurship, to file details of her work as a social activist for betterment of differently-abled by the next date of hearing.

The principal secretary DOPT, the UPSC chairman, and Sabharwal are the respondents in the petition .

PIL to regulate private unaided schools & implement mid-day meals in all govt schools; HC issues notices to State govt

On Monday the HC division bench issued notice to the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development, Department of School Education, the chief secretary, the principal secretaries

(School Education, Women and Child Welfare departments), Commissioner, Food Safety, DEO, Ranga Reddy and Nizamabad, directing them to respond within four weeks.

The plea was filed by Keethineedi Akhil Sriguru Teja from Hyderabad, aggrieved by the inaction of the Centre and the State government in controlling private unaided schools, which are charging exorbitant fee from children studying in their schools in primary and secondary grade. The fee is running into lakhs; the DEOs are not inspecting them.

The State government issued GO 1 (Education) dated January 1,1994, prescribing the fee which is not being implemented by any private unaided schools; the schools are not being inspected by the concerned DEO. Of the 11,501 private schools across the State, only 50 have filed their annual administration report to the SE department, the petitioner’s counsel informed the court.

He said there are 500 primary and upper primary government schools in Hyderabad with nearly 53,948 students, where mid-day meals is not being implemented.

More particularly, the students are not served egg in the meal (as mandated under PM Poshan) in all government schools every alternate day in a week.

The petitioner sought a direction to the State and the Centre to appoint a committee for fee regulation in private schools. Hearing was adjourned by four weeks for filing counter-affidavits.