The Supreme Court has quashed criminal proceedings under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act against a schoolteacher in West Bengal’s Alipurduar district, observing that corporal punishment without sexual intent does not amount to a POCSO offence.
A bench of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Atul S Chandurkar passed the order while examining allegations against a geography teacher accused of physically punishing two Class 10 girls.
According to the case records, women teachers had informed the school headmaster in June 2025 that some students had complained about physical contact by the teacher. A subsequent counselling and enquiry process recorded allegations that the teacher had beaten the girls when they were inattentive and had slapped them for not carrying geography maps.
The enquiry report also mentioned allegations of the teacher rubbing one student’s back and pinching her waist, while another allegation involved his nails touching a student’s neck.
An FIR was registered on July 23, 2025 under Section 10 of the POCSO Act, which deals with aggravated sexual assault when the alleged offence is committed by certain persons, including staff of an educational institution.
The Supreme Court, however, noted that sexual intent is an essential element of sexual assault under Section 7 of the POCSO Act. After examining statements recorded by a magistrate under Section 183 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), the bench found that the allegations did not establish the necessary sexual intent.
The court said the teacher’s conduct could not be described as appropriate and that he could have dealt with the students in a more sensitive manner. However, it held that inappropriate behaviour or corporal punishment by itself could not be treated as a sexual offence under the POCSO Act.
The bench observed that continuing the prosecution under Section 10 would amount to an abuse of the process of law and cause serious prejudice to the teacher.
The Supreme Court therefore set aside the Calcutta High Court’s April 27 order and quashed the proceedings pending before the special court in Alipurduar.
The ruling draws a distinction between disciplinary misconduct or corporal punishment and offences that fall within the specific requirements of the POCSO Act. While the court criticised the manner in which the teacher dealt with the students, it concluded that the material on record did not satisfy the legal requirements for an aggravated sexual assault charge under POCSO.
Reader Comments 0