The Delhi High Court on Wednesday, November 16, refused to interfere with an order passed by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in an incident that saw a student being brutally beaten up by his school's principal. The NHRC has taken cognisance of the incident and awarded over Rs 3 lakh as compensation to the student.
It was a Class XI boy, whose name has not been revealed, who was forcibly taken out of his class in the presence of other students and severely beaten by the school principal, as per a report by the PTI. The school had pleaded in the High Court that the principal should be held personally liable for his actions and no liability should be fastened upon the school for the incident.
The court was further asked to consider that the act was of such a nature that the principal could have been charged for the commission of offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC). However, the court refused to entertain the plea. Justice Yashwant Varma, who was hearing the matter, said that the court was "unable to appreciate the challenge" mounted by the petitioner school.
"Undisputedly, the incident occurred within the precincts of the petitioner institution. The principle was undisputedly employed by the petitioner. It would thus be liable for all or any incidents concerning students that may take place within the precincts of that institution," the court observed. Dismissing the petition, the court said, "The mere fact that charges against the principal could have also been drawn under IPC would not detract from the power of the commission to award compensation," as per PTI.
