The Chhattisgarh High Court has flagged an acute shortage of toilets for girl students in government schools. It also noted the poor condition of many existing toilets. The Court has directed the Secretary, School Education Department, to file a personal affidavit on the issue.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal passed the direction while monitoring a PIL filed in 2025 on the same subject. The Bench took note of a recent report published in a Hindi daily. The report highlighted the alleged lack of girls’ toilets and the unusable state of facilities in several schools.
News report flags shortage and unusable facilities
The Court recorded the report’s claim that over 5,000 schools in Chhattisgarh do not have girls’ toilets. It also noted the claim that over 8,000 schools have toilets in abysmal condition.
The report referred to Bilaspur as well. It stated that over 160 schools faced major toilet-related issues. It also said that over 200 schools had toilets that existed but remained unusable.
The report also placed figures on toilet availability in operational schools. It said that out of 56,615 operational schools, 54,715 had toilets for girls. However, only 52,545 were usable. For boys, the report said 53,142 schools had toilets, but only 49,355 were functional.
Based on these figures, the report suggested that 4,070 schools had no toilets for girls. It also suggested that 7,260 schools had no toilets for boys.
The report further claimed that students and teachers faced health consequences, including urinary infections. It said they repeatedly demanded better sanitation from the School Education Department.
Court calls situation “shameful,” terms it “oppression against girls”
Against this backdrop, the Division Bench observed:
“As per the news report, the conditions in Government Schools are shameful. There is not even washrooms or toilets for female students, making it difficult for them to spend even five to six hours in school. This system is a form of oppression against girls. This could be a major reason for many female students dropping out or not attending school at all. Many schools even share a single toilet for both girls and boys, causing daily embarrassment for female students.“
U-DISE 2024–25 report also referenced
The Court also referred to the Union Ministry of Education’s U-DISE report for 2024–25. As recorded in the order, the report showed that around 5,500 schools lacked separate toilets for girls.
The Court noted a rationalisation process that merged schools. It said this process partly improved toilet access by increasing the number of schools with girls’ toilets. Still, the Court recorded that the Ministry report listed 48,757 government schools in Chhattisgarh. It also noted that these schools served 37.64 lakh students, including 19.54 lakh female students.
After rationalisation, the Court recorded that the number of schools reduced to around 38,000. Even then, the report said more than 1,000 schools still lacked separate toilets for girls.
The Court also noted that the shortage appeared most acute in Bilaspur, Raipur, Korba, Bastar, and Janjgir-Champa.
Matter listed for March 23, 2026
The Bench noted that the PIL was registered as early as January 2025. It also noted that the news report suggested no satisfactory improvement on the ground. The Court therefore directed the Secretary, School Education Department, to place a personal affidavit on record.
The matter is listed for further hearing on 23.03.2026.
Case Title: In the matter of Suo Moto Public Interest Litigation v. State of Chhattisgarh & Others
