Supreme Court of India.
| Photo Credit: ANI
The Supreme Court on Saturday (December 13, 2025) protected a karate instructor from arrest in a case filed under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) by a former student.
A Bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kumar directed the Kerala Police not to arrest the martial arts instructor until the next date of hearing in the top court on February 18, 2026.
The court ordered the man to “scrupulously abide” by the conditions imposed under Section 482(2) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, primarily requiring him to cooperate with the police investigation and make himself available for interrogation in connection with the case registered at Vadakara in Kerala.
The 46-year-old man, represented by advocate Vipin Nair, was granted protection from coercive action despite both the trial court and the State High Court refusing him anticipatory bail.
The petitioner argued before the top court that the FIR was lodged five years after the alleged incident owing to personal enmity and professional rivalry. Mr. Nair submitted that his client had over 20 years of experience in the martial arts field and had taught hundreds of students without any blemish on his reputation. He contended that the case was patently false and motivated. The Bench issued notice to the State of Kerala.
The petition described the criminal allegations as an “alarming instance of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO) being misused by a former student to target and implicate a teacher for personal motives”.
“What was enacted as a protective statute for safeguarding children from genuine sexual assault has in the present case been weaponised to settle scores and destroy the reputation of the petitioner. Rather than the complainant requiring legal protection, it is the petitioner, a karate instructor aged 46 years with an unblemished record spanning over two decades, who now requires protection from a motivated, belated and vindictive prosecution,” the petition contended.
Referring to a Supreme Court judgment on the impact of criminal accusations on a teacher’s reputation, the petitioner quoted that “reputation is earned by a teacher upon rendering service over the years and an accusation like the present would remain as an indelible mark marring his entire future life”.
Published – December 13, 2025 09:39 pm IST
