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Senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy submitted before the court that frequent school closures disproportionately affect children from economically weaker sections, as they lose access to essential services such as mid-day meals and classroom support.
Supreme Court
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday heard a petition concerning the worsening air pollution crisis in Delhi-NCR, during which the continued closure of schools in the national capital came under discussion.
Senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy submitted before the court that frequent school closures disproportionately affect children from economically weaker sections, as they lose access to essential services such as mid-day meals and classroom support.
Responding to the argument, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said that decisions on school closures and other pollution-related measures should be guided by expert opinion. He observed that courts often receive limited inputs from environmental and public health experts in such matters.
“The difficulty is that we hardly get advice from experts, and lawyers end up becoming the experts,” the Chief Justice remarked.
The Supreme Court clarified that school closures will continue for the time being, expressing hope that pollution levels would ease before the holiday period concludes.
The bench reiterated the need for scientific and expert-driven solutions to address the recurring pollution crisis in the Delhi-NCR region, while stressing that interim measures were necessary to safeguard public health.
