Kerala HC quashes criminal case against teacher for caning students

The Kerala High Court quashed criminal proceedings against a teacher accused of caning three students, ruling he acted only to enforce discipline, not to harm. The court said minimal force was used and found no evidence of injury or malicious intent

Kochi: The Kerala High Court has quashed the criminal proceedings against a school teacher for caning three of his students, who were fighting each other in the classroom, saying that he only intended to enforce discipline and had no intention to hurt them.

Justice C Pratheep Kumar said that according to the class 5 students statement, they were fighting each other in the classroom with sticks and it was at that time the Maths teacher intervened “to enforce discipline”.

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The court noted that the teacher caned the students only on their legs, none of them required any medical treatment and there was no evidence that any of them sustained bodily injuries in the incident.

It also noted that while the incident occurred on the morning of September 16, 2019, the same was reported to the police only on September 20, 2019 evening around 8.30pm.

“No reason was given for the above delay. … the petitioner (teacher) has used only minimum force while caning the students.

“Since the petitioner had used only minimum corporal punishment, that too, only for enforcing discipline in the class, it is evident that he had no intention to cause any hurt to the students beyond what is required for enforcing the discipline in the class,” the court said in its October 16 order.

It further said that the teacher’s action was only for “correcting” the students and “to make them good citizens” and as such, “he was well within his limits”.

The court said it was “quite unfortunate” that the parents could not understand the “good intention” of the teacher and it led to this unwarranted prosecution.

Justice Kumar also referred to various earlier orders of the High Court where it had held that when there is no malafide intention on the part of the teacher in inflicting corporal punishment for the well-being of the student and for maintaining discipline, it is not possible to say that an offence under the Juvenile Justice Act is made out.

The teacher had been booked for the offences under section 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means) of the IPC and section 75 (cruelty to child) of the Juvenile Justice Act.

The court further said that it was clear that the school teacher, in view of his peculiar position, has authority to enforce discipline and correct a pupil, who is put in his charge.

“When a parent entrusts a child to a teacher, he on his behalf impliedly consents for the teacher to exercise over the student such authority.

“When a student does not behave properly or act according to the rules of a school, and if the teacher gives him a corporal punishment for improving his character and conduct, the court has to ascertain whether the said act of the teacher was bona fide or not. If it is found that he had acted with a good intention, only to improve or correct the student, he is within his limits,” it said.

In the instant case, the court said that the teacher’s conduct does not amount to any offence, including those punishable under section 324 IPC and section 75 of the JJ Act, “and as such, the request in this petition to quash further proceedings against the petitioner is well founded”.

“In the result, this Crl.MC is allowed. All further proceedings in CC. No.577/2023 on the file of the Additional Sessions Judge-I (Special Court), Palakkad, arising from Crime No.585 of 2019 of Vadakkencherry Police Station, is quashed,” the court said.