The Gwalior bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court recently ruled that teachers scolding and reprimanding students were merely attempts to correct the curriculum and did not amount to a crime.

A bench of Justice Anand Pathak allowed the petition under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code filed by the principal, vice-principal and a teacher of Vivekanand High School in Dabratkanpur, Gwalior. The court quashed the FIR and all other subsequent proceedings filed against them for committing offenses under Section 306 (abetment to suicide) of IPC and Section 34 of IPC.

A Grade 12 student at the school ended his life after being reprimanded and allegedly humiliated by the school authorities.

The student was reprimanded by the principal for setting off firecrackers in the school restroom along with two others, the charges allege. The next day, the vice-principal summoned the students’ parents to the school. The incident allegedly caused psychological stress to the student, who went to his house and hanged himself.

The petitioners’ lawyers approached the High Court for relief, arguing that the principal’s scolding was aimed at safeguarding the interests of other students because the deceased student’s inappropriate behavior had resulted in damage to the school bathroom wall.

There was no intentional prejudice against the deceased and no physical abuse occurred; rather, he argued, it was only a verbal rebuke.

The court acknowledged the distress the incident had caused the family but stressed the need to assess the responsibility of the teacher involved.

The HC noted that although corporal punishment is currently prohibited under Sections 2(24) and 82 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, alternative social control methods have been devised to address behavioral problems among school-going children.

“Children should not only receive a good academic education but also be educated to be a good citizen so that they can add wealth to society instead of becoming a burden to society. If corporal punishment is prohibited and if a child out of curiosity or ignorance or peers Any abnormal behavior or unacceptable pattern of conduct as a student due to pressure (which is very severe during school days), then he needs to correct it through measured reprimand or scolding,” the single judge held.

The court emphasized that the primary duty of the principal and other teachers is to maintain discipline and a peaceful atmosphere in the school premises so that other children are not adversely affected and develop holistically.

Taking into account the facts of the case, the Supreme Court held that in the present case, the entire development was clearly a corrective course and not any instigation or incitement.

The court held that in the present case, the three key conditions required to prosecute a person under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code were not present: abetment to suicide, b. conspiracy to cause the person to commit suicide, and c. intentional act or omission to assist suicide.

“Their role was limited to reprimanding or scolding the boy for his behavior, which was the duty of the principal and other teachers… They never intended for the deceased boy to commit suicide,” the court stressed, noting that “when parents handed over their children to the school , trust that schools will care for their children as much as parents do, therefore this reorientation of trust cannot be wasted because of timidity and fear of backlash. Teachers should rise above this fear, otherwise they will fail in their duty to shape the future of humanity. “

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