NEW DELHI, NOV 25: A class VI student, who was reportedly paraded naked before his classmates and beaten mercilessly by the vice-principal of a government school here, has approached a city court seeking justice.

Chief metropolitan magistrate, S S Handa, acting on the complaint filed by the student, Rakesh Kumar, has issued summons to the Vice-Principal, P C Gupta, and Principal, Dhyan Singh, to appear before him on December 9.

The complaint that moved through Parents Forum for Meaningful Education (PFME) alleged that after Rakesh was paraded naked before his classmates he has been reduced to a ``mental wreck''.

Moreover, the Vice-Principal ``coerced'' Rakesh to write a statement absolving him of any wrong doing and threatened that he would be hung upside down in the school if he narrated anything about the incident, the complainant said.

Counsel for PFME, P S Sharda, contended before the court that children were the assets of the nation and a new criminal jurisprudence had to be considered as they ``are totally unprotected against such crimes''.

Sharda said, ``The country's legislature has thought it fit to enact a legislation to prevent cruelty towards animals but there is none for the protection of children.''

Rakesh went to school on September 25. During a free class , he joined his classmates to a bath at an uncovered water tank inside the school compound to take bath, which he said was an usual practice in the school.

A little later, the Vice-Principal came to the water tank and shouted at him asking him to come out of the tank, the complainant said. The Vice-Principal did not allow him to wear his clothes and dragged him to the school office while ``mercilessly beating'' him with a stick all the way, it was alleged. The Principal, who was present at the school assembly, did not prevent the unfortunate incident, the student alleged.

The complaint has been filed under various sections of Indian Penal Code for causing hurt and assaulting a person.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.