The Supreme Court criticised the Kerala High Court for insensitively quashing FIRs against a teacher accused of harassing students. It ruled the case must go to trial under the POCSO Act.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court of India strongly criticised the Kerala High Court for its careless and insensitive handling of a serious sexual harassment case involving a school computer teacher. The teacher, Rajesh Kumar (Respondent No. 1), had been accused of inappropriate and indecent behavior towards several girl students.
These allegations were serious and included lewd comments, vulgar WhatsApp messages, and disturbing questions directed at the girls.
A Supreme Court Bench consisting of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotishwar Singh expressed deep disappointment with the High Court’s decision to quash multiple FIRs that were registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The Bench stated that the Kerala High Court had failed to act responsibly and sensitively, especially since the accused was in a position of trust as a teacher and the victims were his own students.
The Supreme Court remarked,
“it is not possible to infer from the evidences that such act were with sexual intent… all that we observe at this stage is that we are disappointed with the manner in which the High Court acted in an insensitive matter, ignoring the fact that the accused was a teacher and the victims were his students. The preliminary evidence before the police ……reveal that the ingredients for subjecting the respondent to trial are made out. We fail to understand how the High Court construed that Section 7 can’t be made out.”
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The case reached the Supreme Court after the accused went to the Kerala High Court asking for the FIRs to be cancelled. The High Court had agreed and quashed the FIRs, stating that there was no sexual intent in his actions. However, the Supreme Court completely disagreed with this view.
The top court expressed concern that many of the victims belonged to the minority community, and said this made the matter even more disturbing. It also pointed out that despite serious allegations, such as the accused asking girls “obnoxious questions” like how many sanitary napkins they used, the High Court ruled that these actions did not show sexual intent – a key requirement under Section 7 of the POCSO Act.
Calling it “a glaring example of the victimisation of victims,”
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the Supreme Court said that it,
appeared the accused had influence or backing, because initially, the police did not record the statements of most of the girl students — except for a 19-year-old.
Only after a writ petition was filed in the High Court were statements from some of the students finally recorded. This led to five FIRs being registered against the accused under the POCSO Act.
The Supreme Court noted,
“It seems the accused carries some influence because the statements of the victims weren’t recorded — except for a 19-year-old victim. Following this, a writ petition was filed in the High Court. Statements of some of the students were recorded, and based on them, five FIRs were registered against Respondent No. 1 under POCSO Act.”
The court emphasized that the initial material collected by the police, including the statements from the 19-year-old complainant and other students, clearly showed that there was enough evidence for a trial to begin.
The judges said,
“We fail to understand how the High Court construed that Section 7 can’t be made out. The ingredients necessary to subject the respondent to trial are made out,”
showing their complete disagreement with the High Court’s view.
The Supreme Court ruled that the High Court was wrong to interfere in the matter before a proper trial had even started. It therefore cancelled the High Court’s decision to quash the FIRs and said that the accused must now face trial in the appropriate court.
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The apex court also made it clear that
“The victims should be treated as protected victims,”
giving clear direction that the young girls involved in the case must be given proper protection and support.
Finally, the Supreme Court directed the school management to suspend the accused teacher. However, the Bench allowed the school to carry out its own internal inquiry as per its service rules.
The court said,
“The school management should place the accused teacher under suspension. However, it allowed the management the liberty to conduct an independent inquiry under applicable service rules.”
This ruling by the Supreme Court sends a strong message that complaints of sexual harassment, especially involving minors and people in positions of power, must be handled with the utmost care and seriousness. It also shows that courts should not lightly dismiss cases where there is clear evidence that demands a full trial.
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