Not a single life should be lost: Bombay High Court orders medical care for fasting tribal students

The Bombay High Court on Saturday directed the Maharashtra government to provide immediate medical assistance, hospitalisation and supervised care to tribal students currently on a hunger strike in Pune [Ashok Kavadu Meshram v. State of Maharashtra & Ors.].

The matter was mentioned today seeking judicial intervention over poor infrastructure, safety hazards and unaddressed grievances relating to State-run tribal residential hostels. 

The petitioner, Ashok Kavadu Meshram, is a local resident from the town Manjiri in Pune district where the students are protesting.

A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Ravindra V Ghuge and Justice Gautam A Ankhad took it up for hearing at 12.30 pm.

The bench stressed that protecting the lives of students is top priority.

"Take care of those students who are fasting. If required, give them medical treatment. If the doctors advise that they should be given food under medical observation, even do that. We don't want the life of even a single student to be lost," the Bench orally remarked.

The advocate representing the petitioner informed the Court that students at the Government Tribal Hostel in Pune district of Maharashtra have been on a hunger strike for the past 15 days.

"The situation is very, very grave. Their life is in danger," he submitted.

He also warned that unaddressed grievances could trigger wider protests across Maharashtra.

To highlight systemic failures in tribal institutions, the counsel cited multiple recent incidents which included:

• Student fatality and severe food poisoning cases at an ashram school in Amravati;

• Food contamination affecting 22 minor students in Thane's Shahapur taluka; and

• Student deaths caused by snake bites at a residential hostel in Yavatmal district.

Advocate General Milind Sathe informed the court that the government has initiated swift action.

Sathe said that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis convened a high-level meeting earlier in the day with the Minister of Tribal Development, departmental secretaries, and student representatives. 

Sathe assured the court that minutes of the meeting would be placed before the Court on August 31. 

In its order, the High Court directed the State to take immediate steps to safeguard the health of the protesting students.

"The State shall ensure that all affected students receive timely and adequate medical assistance... and on doctors' advice, be admitted in the hospital for extending medical treatment as well as administering food under medical advice," the Bench ordered.

The matter will be heard again on August 31, Monday.