Madras High Court Madras High Court

The Madras High Court on Thursday imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on a school teacher as punishment for pinching her student’s cheeks.

The order was issued by the first bench of the High Court, comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice M Sathyanarayanan.

In the 2012 incident, Rama Gowri, a teacher at Kesari Higher Secondary School in Mylapore, pinched the cheeks of a Class VII boy for not doing his homework and the boy sustained minor injuries.

The boy’s mother Meharunnisa took the matter to the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) and a criminal case was filed against the teacher.

During the hearing before SHRC, the teacher reportedly claimed that she had only twisted the boy’s ears. Her argument was that the boy’s cheeks were injured when he tried to move away while she was holding his ear.

In May 2013, the commission imposed a fine of Rs 1,000 on the Mylapore school for violation of the boy’s human rights.

The boy’s mother claimed that the school management delayed issuance of transfer certificate and decided to appeal to the High Court, demanding an increase in the quantum of compensation.

She also filed a fresh complaint against the teacher before a magistrate court in the city.

Meanwhile, calling all these multiple proceedings a harassment, the teacher moved the High Court. However, on Thursday, the High Court ordered her to pay a compensation of Rs 50,000 and approach the judicial magistrate court, Saidapet, where the case was pending against her.

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