Acting on a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by a class 1 student of a government school in Koppal district, the High Court of Karnataka on Wednesday directed the State government to provide the second set of free uniforms to all students, up to the age of 14 and studying in government schools across the State within two months.
Not providing the second set is not only arbitrary and irrational, but also unhygienic as students will have to wear the same uniform on all days, the court said while also directing the government to provide one set of shoes and two sets of socks for free to students wherever the school norms mandate it.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Mohammad Nawaz issued the directions while allowing the petition, filed by Manjunath, a student of Kuvempu Centenary Model Government School, Kinnala village, through his father Devappa Basappa Harijan.
As costs of the petition, the Bench directed the government to provide within two weeks the second set to Manjunath and also one set of shoes and socks as his PIL has come to the aid of lakhs of government school students.