Allahabad High Court restrains Hamirpur Court from taking coercive action against a teacher
By Rajesh Pandey
The Allahabad High Court has restrained the court below at Hamirpur from taking coercive action against a teacher, who has been accused of flogging a six-year-old student, belonging to the scheduled caste (SC), owing to racial hatred.
Hearing a petition filed by Ada Parveen, a teacher at a school in Hamirpur district of Uttar Pradesh, Justice Dinesh Pathak also issued notices to the state government and the complainant seeking their responses, while posting the matter for a further hearing on February 18, 2025.
The petitioner teacher, Ada Parveen, who is working as a teacher at a school in Hamirpur district, has been accused of flogging a student, which reportedly caused the student to fall ill.
Following a complaint lodged by the victim’s mother, an FIR was registered against the teacher at the police station—Kotwali Nagar, Hamirpur—under section 323 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for causing hurt and sections 3(2)(VA) and 3(1)(r) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Subsequently, the police, after investigation, submitted a chargesheet against her, and the court below took cognizance.
After that, the petitioner’s teacher challenged the chargesheet submitted against her, contending that there is no direct evidence on the record to prove the occurrence of an offense under section 3(2)(VA) and 3(1)(r) SC/ST Act as none of the independent witnesses supported the case, as averred in the FIR.
It was her case that she had merely rebuked the student for not completing his homework. It was also argued that the Medical Officer had denied any injury inflicted on the victim’s body.
Thus, it was submitted that the entire prosecution story is based on speculation, and no specific allegation has been made regarding thrashing and hurling caste-related abusive language or causing damage to the victim owing to his caste being a member of the SC/ST community.
Noting that the matter requires consideration, the court, in its order dated December 20, stayed coercive action against the accused in the present sessions case at Hamirpur district court, which arose out of a criminal case lodged at the police station—Kotwali Nagar, Hamirpur district.
