The Bihar government today informed the Patna High Court that participation of school children above class 5 in the proposed statewide human chain on January 21 will be voluntary and not compulsory.

Advocate General Lalit Kishore submitted before a bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice Anil Kumar Upadhyay that the chief secretary has already issued a direction which says that children up to class 5 will not participate while it will be completely voluntary for children above class 5 to take part in the human chain.

The court was hearing a PIL filed against making presence of students above class 5 mandatory in the human chain against child marriage and dowry.

It is not at all compulsory for anyone and no coercive action will be taken for non participation, the AG submitted before the court.

He further said guardians will have options whether or not they want to send their wards to take part.

The PIL was filed by Shiv Prakash Rai, who sought direction to the government not to hold the human chain and involve school children and teachers in it.

The court posted the matter for next hearing after four weeks.

It may be noted that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had on Gandhi Jayanti last year announced that a human chain would be formed on January 21 to create awareness on abolishing social evils of child marriage and dowry on the lines of prohibition.

The Bihar government had claimed that the state had formed the world’s largest human chain on January 21, 2017 in which over four crore people participated in support of the liquor ban with Kumar and leaders from various political parties and citizens holding each others’ hands at the Gandhi Maidan here.

The petitioner’s counsel submitted during the hearing that it was misuse of public money on human chain and children should not be involved in it at all as many kids were taken ill during last year’s campaign against liquor.

Besides, citing the apex court ruling, the petitioner contended that teachers should not be engaged in non academic activities except duties of national importance such as election duty etc.

On this, the court said that it was not disposing of the petition and listed the matter for hearing after four weeks.