Telangana High Court imposes Rs 1 lakh cost on retired headmaster over personal dispute plea

The Telangana High Court imposed Rs 1 lakh costs on a retired headmaster for filing a writ petition seeking action against a teacher, observing that the plea was aimed at settling personal scores. The Court dismissed the petition and directed payment to a school.

By Legal Correspondent

Hyderabad: Justice E.V. Venugopal of the Telangana High Court imposed costs of Rs.1 lakh on a retired headmaster for filing a writ petition seeking disciplinary action against a teacher, observing that petition was an attempt to settle personal scores.

---

The writ petition was filed by P. Srinivas, a retired Headmaster of MPUPS, Pangiri Village, Nirmal district, alleging that the education authorities had failed to conclude disciplinary proceedings initiated against a Secondary Grade Teacher based on his complaints. He sought directions to complete the enquiry and take action against the teacher.

The Court noted that the petitioner had retired in 2017 but lodged the complaint only in 2022 in relation to incidents that allegedly took place in 2016. It further observed that no complaint was made while both were serving in the same school and that the petitioner continued to pursue the matter even after retirement. The Court also found that the petitioner had suppressed the fact that counter-complaints existed between the parties.

Observing that the petitioner had not approached the Court with clean hands and had invoked its extraordinary jurisdiction to pursue a personal dispute, Justice Venugopal dismissed the writ petition and directed him to deposit the costs of Rs.1 lakh with the Government High School for the Blind Girls, Malakpet, within one month.