Student slapping case: Teacher may face probe under Sec 295A of IPC, UP government to Supreme Court

The Uttar Pradesh government on Monday informed SC that the Muzaffarnagar school teacher, who allegedly spurred students into slapping a classmate as punishment and made a communal remark, may face charges under Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The said section deals with deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs. A bench headed by Justice Abhay S Oka was informed that the said section of the IPC is being invoked against the teacher.

The bench was further informed by the counsel for the UP government that this provision would be charged instead of Section 153A of the IPC (which deals with promoting enmity between different groups). The bench was also told that sanction for proceeding with the case under Section 295A of the IPC was awaited from the state government.


The bench told the counsel that it is contemplating appointing professionals from institutes like the Tata Institute of Social Sciences or the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences to counsel the victim student and his classmates.