Use of minimum corporal punishment not an offence: Kerala High Court

Stating that the use of minimum corporal punishment to discipline a student is not an offence under the Juvenile Justice Act or the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Kerala High Court has quashed a case filed against a teacher who had been charged with caning a student.

Having quashed the case, a Bench of Justice C. Pratheep Kumar observed that the registration of a first information report on the matter and the issuance of a wound certificate were done three days after the alleged incident.

The teacher of a private school at Venganoor, Thiruvananthapuram, contended that a cane was not a dangerous weapon, and hence it was not an offence under Section 118 (voluntarily causing hurt using a dangerous weapon) of the BNS.

Accepting his contention, the court observed that evidence pointed to the teacher using minimum corporal punishment to enforce discipline. There is no evidence to show that he intended to cause any hurt to the child. Teachers have the implied authority to impose reasonable corporal punishment in good faith, the court said.