How a bunch of flowers and chocolates landed a teacher in sexual harassment case in India's Tamil Nadu

The Indian Supreme Court set aside the conviction of two Tamil Nadu teachers in a sexual harassment case, according to media reports on Monday (Mar 11). A report by ETV Bharat said that one of the two teachers was the main accused in the case and was convicted under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO). The second teacher was charged with criminal intimidation.

A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court comprising justices Dipankar Datta, K V Viswanathan, and Sandeep Mehta said that it agreed with the submissions of the senior counsel of Tamil Nadu that an act of sexual harassment of a girl student who is also a minor by "any teacher would figure quite high on the list of offences of grave nature since it has far-reaching consequences, which impact more than just the parties to the proceeding."

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The bench said that the two teachers were behind bars and should be immediately released from custody.

What is the case about?

In 2018, on the occasion of Valentine's Day (February 14), the main accused teacher entered a classroom, approached a minor female student and forcefully presented her with flowers and chocolates in the presence of other students. The report said that despite the student's refusal to accept the offerings, the teacher resorted to twisting her arm, forcing her to accept the items.

Later on the same day, the victim was called by another teacher in the school. This teacher asked her why she was refusing to talk to the teacher who presented her with flowers and chocolates. He said that if the victim continued to not talk to the first teacher, he (the teacher who gave gifts) would die and she would be held responsible.

The convictions

Both the teachers were convicted in 2021. They moved the Supreme Court challenging the Madras High Court judgmentpassed in November 2022, which dismissed their plea seeking relief in the case.

The ETV report said that in November 2021, a special court convicted the main accused teacher under section 12 of the POCSO Act and sentenced him to three years of rigorous imprisonment. The second teacher, meanwhile, was convicted under section 506 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment.

The Supreme Court bench said on Monday that the right to live a life of dignity and personal liberty was not supposed to be jeopardised based on half-baked evidence.

Justice Datta said that it was axiomatic thata teacher earns a reputation upon rendering service over the years and an accusation like this becomes an indelible mark marring his entire future life.

The bench said it was inclined to deem that this case was unsuitable for securing a conviction under section 11 read with section 12 of the POCSO Act, as there were enough missing links to extend the benefit of the doubt to the main accused.

As for the second teacher, the bench said, "As regards A-2, we do not consider that the prosecution was successful in proving that the conduct of A-2 was a case of criminal intimidation punishable under section 506 of IPC; his conviction, too, is also liable to be set aside."

(With inputs from agencies)