Supreme Court Declines to Hear Plea Seeking Mandatory Biometric Attendance in Schools

The Supreme Court on Friday declined to entertain a Public Interest Litigation seeking mandatory biometric-based attendance for students in schools across the country to address the issue of ‘dummy’ educational institutions. The court granted the petitioner the liberty to approach the concerned High Court. A bench comprising Justice P. Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe said it was not inclined to consider the petition filed under Article 32 of the Constitution. The bench dismissed the plea while allowing petitioner and advocate N. K. Goswami to approach the High Court. The bench told the petitioner, “We give you liberty to approach the High Court.” The petition had sought directions to the Centre and state governments to introduce measures aimed at addressing the issue. One of the key demands was to make biometric-based attendance compulsory for school students. Plea Seeks Regulation of Coaching Centres The petition also sought a legally prescribed limit on the number of hours schoolchildren can spend in coaching classes. It further called for a mandatory Code of Conduct for coaching centres. The petitioner also urged authorities to prevent coaching institutions from manipulating their success statistics and using photographs of toppers in misleading advertisements. However, the Supreme Court declined to entertain the petition at this stage and directed the petitioner to pursue the matter before the appropriate High Court.