Kerala High Court says teacher could use cane if students don't behave

Kochi: The Kerala High Court ruled that a teacher could use a cane or give corporal punishment to school students when they do not behave properly or act against school rules, Live Law reported.

The court also quashed criminal proceedings initiated against a school teacher for beating his students with a cane.

The court of Justice C Pratheep Kumar referred to multiple precedents which discussed the extent of corporal punishment that can be inflicted on children by teachers.

The court observed in the particular case that the teacher has authority to enforce discipline and correct a pupil in his charge since parents entrust their wards to teachers with an implied consent to exercise such authority over them.

“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 only has to ascertain that the act of the teacher was bona fide.

The court found that the teacher in the case acted with a good intention, “only to correct the student”, and the teacher was within their limits.

The offences charged against the teacher were Section 324 [Voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means] IPC and Section 75 [Punishment for cruelty to child] of the Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection of Children) Act 2015.

The court also noted that the teacher had intervened in a fight among students who were beating each other with sticks. The court also noted that there was no evidence to show that the victim in the case sustained no bodily injury and concluded that only minimal force was used on them.