Stating that school teachers have the authority to enforce discipline and correct a pupil, the Kerala High Court has quashed criminal proceedings initiated against a teacher for reportedly beating a student with a cane to end a fight among students.
When a student does not behave properly at school, and if a teacher gives him corporal punishment to improve his character and conduct, the court has to ascertain whether the said act is bona fide or not. If it is found that the teacher acted with a good intention, to improve or to correct a student, he is within limits, the court said.
The petitioner teacher had been charged under the IPC for causing cruelty to a child and under the Juvenile Justice Act. On perusing the first information report, a Bench of Justice C. Pratheep Kumar noticed that the teacher at Mambad CA UP School had intervened and beaten the student on the leg to end a fight among students, who were beating one another with sticks.
The court further noted that the student did not have to be treated by a doctor, and that no explanation was given regarding the four-day delay in reporting the incident. There was no evidence to show that the student sustained any injury, and this shows that minimum force was used while caning him.
Published – October 23, 2025 11:51 pm IST
