No coercive action against teacher accused of thrashing kid: HC

Prayagraj: Allahabad high court has restrained police from taking coercive action against a teacher accused of flogging a six year-old student, belonging to SC caste, out of racial hatred.

Hearing a petition filed by the accused Ada Parveen, a teacher at a school in Hamirpur district of UP, a bench of Justice Dinesh Pathak also issued notices to state govt and the complainant seeking their response, while posting the matter for next hearing on Feb 18.

Parveen has been accused of flogging a student who later fell ill.

On the complaint lodged by the victim's mother, an FIR was registered against Parveen at Kotwali Nagar police station in Hamirpur under Section 323 of the IPC for causing hurt and sections 3(2)(va) and 3(1)(r) of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Later, police filed a chargesheet against Parveen in a local court. The court took cognizance of the matter and issued summons to Parveen.

Parveen challenged the chargesheet in the high court, contending there was no direct evidence against her as none of the independent witnesses supported the case, as averred in the FIR.

She pleaded that she had merely rebuked the student for not completing his homework. It was also argued that the medical officer had stated that there was no injury inflicted on the child's body.

The high court passed the order on Dec 20, 2024.