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Mindset of teachers must undergo a paradigm shift in disciplining adolescent children: Karnataka High Court
Court declines to stop probe against two teachers accused of threatening a girl in the guise of disciplining her for talking to a boy, resulting in her death
Observing that the “myopic or parochial mindset of teachers must undergo a paradigm shift” in disciplining adolescent children, the High Court of Karnataka on Friday (July 5) declined to interfere with the criminal case registered against two teachers for abetting the suicide of a girl student by allegedly harassing and threatening her, in the guise of enforcing discipline, for talking with a boy of the same school.
“Boys and girls are in the same classroom; if they talk to each other or become friends, it is ununderstandable as to how such acts could become subversive of discipline,” the court wondered by expressing a hope that this case becomes “an eye-opener towards such paradigm shift”.
Justice M. Nagaprasanna made these observations while dismissing the petition filed by Roopesha, 34, a drawing teacher, and Sadananda, 44, a physical training teacher, with a private school in Dharmasthala in Dakshina Kannada district.
The case was registered in February against them under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, on the complaint given by the girl’s mother, and the dying declaration of the victim.
Idea of discipline
Pointing out that enforcement of discipline has dual connotations, one positive and the other negative, the court said, “The positive method of disciplining a child is only through motivation; the negative of it is in the manner that has become the subject matter of the present crime.”
The victim, the court said, was sought to be chided not for any indiscipline or any act that was subversive of any laid-down discipline in the school, but for asking her to stop talking to a fellow male student.
Meanwhile, the court made it clear that its observations are limited to deciding this petition, and they should not influence either the investigation or the pending proceeding.
How incident unfolded
The drawing teacher had sent a WhatsApp message to one of the victim’s classmates, commenting on the character of the victim by referring to her frequent talks with a boy, who was also her classmate. When the victim enquired about this with the drawing teacher, he declined to speak to her but asked her to bring her parents to the school.
However, the physical training teacher, who was in the staff room at that time, told her that they had a video of her kissing a boy. The victim narrated this in her statement given to the police and the child protection officer in the hospital by alleging that she took extreme steps as she was depressed due to the conduct of her teachers.
The victim’s mother complained that the drawing teacher had continued to discuss her daughter talking to a boy with other students despite her request that he speak to her (mother) and not with other students.
“A child of 14 years is undoubtedly in the thick of adolescent behaviour. Therefore, it is here that they need to be dealt with compassion and not in this manner. It must be remembered that times have changed, and change we must, according to the changing times,” the court observed.
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