Think twice before hugging your classmate or colleague, whatever the occasion is or you could land in a soup. And worryingly, the judiciary may not be keen to dredge you out of it.
The Kerala High Court on December 12 upheld the decision of St Thomas Central School, Thiruvananthapuram, to expel a class 12 student for allegedly hugging a girl for doing well at an extracurricular event in the school.
The girl “who got hugged” has also been expelled and the incident has sparked a furore in the city, which is known as the cultural capital of Kerala.
While walking down the stairs, Vishal* gave Sherin* a hug to congratulate her on her performance in a western music competition held in the school in July 2017. A teacher who saw this shouted at them and reported the incident to the school's vice principal immediately. The children gave a written apology to the vice principal and were about to leave. But then, Vishal's class teacher reportedly felt it was a grave offence and she insisted Vishal's father be summoned.
Both Vishal and Sherin were then suspended from school, though they were allowed to appear for the Onam examinations.
Later, Vishal's father was asked to meet Rajan Verghese, secretary of the Mar Thoma Church Educational Society, which runs the school, on July 24. He felt quite offended as his son was described as a “bull in heat.” He was severely criticised for the way he had raised his son.
The school then accessed Vishal's Instagram account and showed his parents some pictures of himself and Sherin he had posted on Instagram. In his defence, Vishal says the pictures were not indecent as described by the school.
The school then set up an inquiry committee on September 19. The committee had a few sittings and on November 22, both the children were expelled from the school.
The parents then got back to the school with an interim order they obtained from the Child Rights Commission. The school authorities allegedly refused to comply with the interim order and approached the Kerala High Court.
In a writ petition filed at the High Court, the school pointed out that the students' behaviour was not in compliance with the school's disciplinary policy.
The High Court pronounced its verdict on December 12, which was in favour of the school.
As the tussle between the school and the parents intensifies, the children are clueless about their future.
* Names of students have been changed to protect their identities.
