Patna HC asks govt to submit report on steps taken for

The Patna High Court on Monday directed the Bihar government to submit a report with detailed description of the measures taken to ensure learning and education of visually impaired students in the state.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Anil Kumar Upadhyay gave the direction on a PIL filed by Raj Kumar Ranjan, seeking direction to the government to open a school for visually impaired girl students at Jagdishpur block of Bhagalpur district.

The petitioner's counsel, Brisketu Sharan Pandey, submitted that a single-room centre for the visually impaired was currently operational at Jagdishpur, which could accommodate around 30 students.

The counsel further contended that the petitioner had donated land for a school, but the state took no initiative in this regard.

Underlining the significance of the matter, the court extended the ambit of the petition to the whole of the state, in the interest of public, and asked the chief secretary to file a counter affidavit within three weeks, stating the measures taken by the government for the education of visually challenged students.