Reprimanding student for indiscipline does not amount to abetment of suicide, says SC

Reprimanding student for indiscipline does not amount to abetment of suicide, says SC

AmitAnand.Choudhary@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:06.05.2021

The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that a teacher reprimanding students for indiscipline or bunking of classes would not amount to abetment of suicide if an emotional and sentimental student takes the extreme step after being admonished as it is a solemn duty of a teacher to instil discipline in the pupils.

A bench of Justices S Abdul Nazeer and Krishna Murari quashed the criminal proceedings against a teacher of a private school who was booked for abetment after a class IX student committed suicide after being caught for bunking classes. FIR was filed against the teacher as he had reprimanded the student who also named him in the suicide note.

The bench, however, after examining the note, said a reading of it suggests the hypersensitive temperament of the deceased which led him to take such an extraordinary step and which would not ordinarily induce a similarly circumstanced student to commit suicide.

“It is a solemn duty of a teacher to instil discipline in the students. It is not uncommon that teachers reprimand a student for not being attentive or not being up to the mark in studies or for bunking classes or not attending the school. The disciplinary measures adopted by a teacher or other authorities of a school, reprimanding a student for his indiscipline, in our considered opinion, would not tantamount to provoking a student to commit suicide, unless there are repeated specific allegations of harassment and insult deliberately without any justifiable cause or reason,” Justice Murari, who penned the judgement, said.

The court said a simple act of reprimand of a student for his behaviour or indiscipline by a teacher, who is under moral obligations to inculcate the good qualities of a human being in a student would definitely not amount to instigation or intentionally aid to the commission of a suicide by a student.

“If a student is simply reprimanded by a teacher for an act of indiscipline and bringing the continued act of indiscipline to the notice of principal of the institution, who conveyed to the parents of the student for the purposes of school discipline and correcting a child, any student who is very emotional or sentimental commits suicide; can the said teacher be held liable for the same and charged and tried for the offence of abetment of suicide under Section 306 IPC. Our answer to the said question is ‘No’,” the bench said.

“‘Spare the rod and spoil the child’ an old saying may have lost its relevance in present days and corporal punishment to the child is not recognised by law but that does not mean that a teacher or school authorities have to shut their eyes to any indiscipline act of a student. It is not only a moral duty of a teacher but one of the legally assigned duty under Section 24 (e) of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 to hold regular meetings with the parents and guardians and apprise them about the regularity in attendance...,” the court said.