HC: Did cops in uniform grill Bidar kids?

BENGALURU: The high court on Friday directed the government advocate to find out whether children of a Bidar school were interrogated by police in uniform in a sedition case.
The court was hearing a petition alleging gross violation of the Juvenile Justice Act and Criminal Procedure Code by police in acting against the school run by Shaheen Education Society in Bidar.
Bidar police had booked a sedition case against the educational institution on January 26 over a play relating to the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act. It was staged on January 21.
During the hearing, the petitioner's counsel claimed 85 children of the school, aged between nine and 12, were interrogated by policemen in uniform. However, a division bench headed by chief justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka orally observed that the petitioners cannot say the children can't be interrogated.
Nayana Jyothi Jhawar, a Bengaluru-based advocate and the South India Cell For Human Rights Education and Monitoring, an NGO, jointly filed the PIL. The petitioners have sought for a departmental inquiry and action against the police personnel for illegal examination and questioning of the minor students.
The petitioners have also sought compensation for the parents or legal guardians of the children who were subjected to what they called illegal questioning.