The Bombay high court in Goa overturned the conviction of a primary school teacher who had been sentenced to one day in jail and a fine of 1 lakh for allegedly ‘beating’ two school children with a stick and ruled that a teacher reprimanding or administering some reasonable punishment on a child to maintain discipline in a school would not constitute an offence.

The high court observed “The students are admitted in the school for not only the purpose of teaching but also to learn other aspects of life which include discipline. The purpose of the school is not only to teach the academic subjects but to prepare such students in all aspects of life so that in future he would be a person of good behaviour and nature,”

“As far as the use of ruler or stick by the accused is concerned, the same has not been sufficiently established. Therefore, there is serious doubt about the use of any ruler or stick by the accused on that particular day,” the judge said.

“Teachers are respected in society the most. They are the backbone of our education system. If the teachers are in fear of such allegations for trivial matters and more specifically while correcting children, it would be difficult for conducting schools thereby giving proper education and more specifically maintaining discipline. A civilised society needs a civilised young generation which would respect each other and would be considered as a future generation of the nation,” the high court also said.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OFFENCE AND CRIME :

In the Indian legal system, an “offence” refers to a violation of a law that is punishable by the state. A “crime” is a more general term that refers to any act that is prohibited by law.

To know more about the distinction between offence and crime: https://thelegalaffair.com/distinction-between-offence-crime/