A PIL was filed in the Supreme Court on Wednesday seeking a direction to the Centre to ensure the safety of Indian students threatened by racial attacks in Australia and Canada.

While blaming the Government for dilly-dallying and inaction, advocate D K Garg, who filed the PIL, urged the court to issue directions to the Centre to initiate dialogues with the two countries to prevent recurrence of such attacks. He also said stringent laws and regulations must be formulated to ensure the safety of Indian students studying or working abroad.

According to the petitioner, a number of foreign universities have established their recruiting centres and offices in the country, luring thousands of students to their countries and promising them bright educational prospects. Thus, it becomes the foremost duty of the Centre and state Governments to ensure that such foreign universities or colleges first prove their credentials by giving details of safety measures and infrastructural facilities available with these institutions, the PIL stated. The Centre must enter into an MoU with these institutions to ensure safety of the students, it further said.