HC refuses to interfere with compensation given to student beaten by school principal

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to interfere with an order passed by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) awarding over Rs 3 lakh as compensation to a student who was beaten up by his school principal.

The NHRC had taken cognizance of the incident in which the class 11 student was forcibly taken out of his class in the presence of other students and severely beaten up by the school principal. Before the high court, the school contended that the principal should have been held personally liable for his act and no liability can be fastened upon it for the incident.

The court was asked to consider that the act was of such a nature that the principal could have been charged for commission of offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Justice Yashwant Varma, however, said 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”.