Court in Kerala initiates self-instituted legal action following disruptions to lessons at a school in Alappuzha due to flooding
The Kerala High Court has taken up a matter of public interest regarding the waterlogging at SNDP Higher Secondary School in Alappuzha, following a letter from over 200 students, teachers, and the school Principal about severe disruptions caused by flooding due to a breached bund around adjacent paddy fields during heavy rains.
On July 23, 2025, Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Basant Balaji initiated Suo Motu proceedings in response to the situation, where classes were continuing in partially submerged buildings, with waterlogging persisting for over six weeks. This flooding affected students’ ability to attend regular classes and prepare for public examinations, and raised concerns over health hazards from stagnant water.
The Court observed that despite numerous representations, the Paadasekhara Samithi and government authorities had failed to repair the bund or begin pumping operations to drain the water. The stagnant water remained unaddressed. Consequently, the Court registered a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) to compel immediate intervention and remedial action.
The school, founded in 1938 and located in Kainakari Grama Panchayat near Paruthivalavu paddy fields (an area below sea level practicing traditional Kuttanad farming), faces unique flooding risks due to the breached bund around the fields.
The Court ordered an action taken report by a specified next hearing date (likely shortly after July 25, 2025), thus directing authorities to take swift steps to resolve the flooding and ensure safe school functioning.
In a recent development, Advocate Jithin Saji Isaac has been appointed as amicus curiae to assist the Court in the matter. The Kerala State Legal Services Authority (KELSA) has been added as a respondent and asked to conduct a factual enquiry through the District Legal Services Authority and support the amicus curiae in preparing a formal petition for further hearings.
The school is holding classes in shifts, with first-year students attending in the morning session and second-year students attending classes in the afternoon, using the school rooms which were not submerged and remained dry. However, many homes of the school’s students were flooded, and some families were forced to relocate.
The Court has instructed all government authorities to fully cooperate with the District Collector, who has been directed to immediately convene a joint meeting with officials from the Education and Agriculture Departments, the Secretary of the Paadasekhara Samithi, and a school representative to assess the situation and take steps to resolve the problem.
The matter has been posted for further hearing on July 31, 2025, for filing an action taken report. The Court may consider taking up the larger issue regarding other schools in the area and for long term solutions in future hearings.
- In light of the ongoing waterlogging at SNDP Higher Secondary School in Alappuzha, education-and-self-development has become a significant concern in the wider context of general-news, as the flooding prevents students from attending regular classes and preparing for public examinations.
- The judiciary's intervention in the form of a Suo Motu public interest litigation (PIL) has highlighted the role of politics, as the Court has demanded immediate action from the Paadasekhara Samithi and government authorities, aiming to ensure safe school functioning and address the flooding issue.
