Kochi: The Kerala High Court has quashed the criminal proceedings against a school teacher accused of beating students with a cane, observing that a teacher has the authority to enforce discipline and correct pupils under their charge.

Justice C Pratheep Kumar, who delivered the verdict, referred to several judicial precedents on the extent of corporal punishment permissible in schools. The court observed that a teacher, acting in loco parentis, holds the right to discipline students entrusted to their care as long as the act is done in good faith and with corrective intent.

“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,” the order stated.

The teacher had been charged under Section 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 75 (punishment for cruelty to child) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.

However, after examining the First Information Statement (FIS), the court found that the teacher had merely intervened in a fight between students who were hitting each other with sticks. The judge noted that the teacher caned only those involved in the scuffle and used minimal force to correct their behaviour.

The court also pointed out that there was a four-day delay in reporting the incident and that the child was not examined by a doctor. Since there was no medical evidence of bodily injury, the court concluded that the teacher’s actions did not amount to cruelty.

Terming the act as a bona fide attempt to discipline the students rather than to harm them, the High Court allowed the petition and quashed the criminal proceedings.

(With LiveLaw inputs.)