High Court asks Delhi government, police to inform it about action plan to tackle bomb threats to schools

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has asked the city government and the police to inform it about an "action plan" to deal with frequent instances of bomb threats to schools in the national capital. The court also issued notice to the authorities on an application filed by the petitioner, lawyer Arpit Bhargava, who claimed out of five incidents of bomb threats to schools last year, three are yet to be investigated and taken to their logical conclusion.

In a recent order, Justice Subramonium Prasad asked the Delhi government and the Delhi Police to file their response to the plea, and said, "The counter affidavit must indicate the action plan to be taken by the respondents". The petitioner is the father of a child studying at DPS, Mathura Road which received one such threat call last year. "Even this Hon'ble Court was targeted in a similar fashion when a bomb threat email on 15.02.24 sent everyone on their toes and a strict security drill had to be initiated in all courts across Delhi," the latest application by the petitioner said.

"Such incidents have become a daily routine leading to major headaches not only to the Petitioner but to all stakeholders. The safety and security of children is of prime importance and there does not appear to be any solution in hand especially when no reply whatsoever has been filed by Respondent No.1 (Delhi government) to date," the application said. The petitioner was represented by advocate Beenashaw N. Soni.

Delhi School Bomb Threats: Petitioner challenges

In the main petition, Bhargava has said he was aggrieved by the lackadaisical approach of the Delhi government and police in dealing with frequent bomb threat emails received by schools here and the consequent failure of the authorities to ensure the safety and security of children, teachers, staff and other stakeholders.

The plea said the authorities have failed to prevent the recurrence of such threats leading to extreme trauma, stress, harassment, inconvenience and fear in the minds of all including the petitioner. In a status report filed in response to the petition, the Delhi Police had earlier said they have "Bomb Disposal Squads" and "Bomb Disposal Teams" that deal with such threats and incidents in terms of a standard operating procedure. The matter would be heard next in April.