BENGALURU: The High Court of Karnataka has strongly observed that school teachers have absolutely no authority to slap or kick children, emphasizing that no educator should resort to such physical disciplinary acts.

The significant observation was made by a single-judge bench of Justice M. Nagaprasanna during the hearing of a petition filed by a Mangaluru-based private school teacher. The petitioner had approached the high court seeking to quash a criminal case registered against her for allegedly assaulting a minor schoolgirl.

During the courtroom proceedings, the bench directly questioned the petitioner’s conduct, asking, “Why did you hit the child?” Justice Nagaprasanna remarked that no teacher holds the administrative or moral authority to physically abuse children, firmly stating, “We will not let such people go.” Although the counsel representing the petitioner attempted to offer a justification for the classroom action, the bench declined to entertain the arguments, issued an official notice to the state government, and adjourned the hearing.

The criminal case originated at the Surathkal police station in Mangaluru following a formal complaint lodged by the mother of a six-year-old primary school student. According to the police complaint, the accused teacher had allegedly assaulted the child on an earlier occasion as well, which was brought to the notice of the school management. At that time, the institutional heads and the principal held internal discussions and resolved the matter mutually.

However, the mother alleged that despite the initial warning, the teacher repeated the behavior and assaulted her daughter with a wooden stick on January 30. When the parents raised the issue again, a member of the school management initialy denied the claim, but a fellow classmate who witnessed the incident subsequently confirmed the physical assault. Based on these statements, the complainant sought immediate legal intervention. Acting on the dynamic input, the Surathkal police booked the teacher under the stringent provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, leading the accused to challenge the proceedings before the high court.

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