Regular disciplinary inquiry is dispensable for teacher’s sexual misconduct to prevent traumatizing minor students.

The petitioner, a teacher at Kendriya Vidyalaya (KV) Bengdubi, was accused by the father of a Class V student of attempting to molest her on school premises on 22-02-2014

A six-member Preliminary Inquiry Committee and a five-member Summary Inquiry Committee were constituted, both of which concluded that the petitioner had exhibited immoral behavior and moral turpitude

Consequently, the Respondent No. 4 issued a Memorandum on 06-05-2014 dispensing with a regular inquiry under the CCS (CCA) Rules, 1965, citing the potential trauma and embarrassment to the minor victim

The petitioner’s services were terminated on 11-07-2014 under Article 81(B) of the Education Code for Kendriya Vidyalayas

The petitioner’s appeal was rejected by the appellate authority on 08-09-2014, and his subsequent application (OA No. 040/00037/2015) was dismissed by the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Guwahati Bench, on 19-02-2016

The petitioner then challenged these orders via the present writ petition.

1. Whether the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (POSH Act) is applicable to sexual harassment complaints involving minor school students

2. Whether the termination of service under Article 81(B) of the KVS Education Code, by dispensing with a regular inquiry, was legally valid

3. Whether the petitioner’s omission of material text in the documents annexed to the writ petition amounted to an abuse of the court's process

The court primarily interpreted Section 2(a) and Section 9(1) of the POSH Act, 2013, concluding that a minor student is not an "aggrieved woman" and a school is not her "workplace" under the Act

It applied Article 81(B) of the Education Code for Kendriya Vidyalayas, which empowers the Commissioner to dispense with a regular inquiry in cases of moral turpitude involving sexual offences against students if a regular inquiry would cause embarrassment to the student

The court relied on K. D. Sharma v. Steel Authority of India Ltd. (2008) 12 SCC 481, which mandates that litigants must approach the writ court with "clean hands" and full disclosure

Finally, it followed Union of India v. P. Gunasekaran (2015) 2 SCC 610, which limits the scope of judicial review in disciplinary matters to procedural compliance and natural justice rather than re-appreciation of evidence

The court rejected the petitioner's argument regarding the POSH Act, noting that a Class V student (under 18) does not fall within the definition of a "woman" at a "workplace" as contemplated by the Act

Regarding the termination procedure, the court found that the respondents correctly invoked Article 81(B) of the KVS Education Code.

The Commissioner had recorded specific reasons for dispensing with a regular inquiry—namely, protecting the minor girl from the trauma of cross-examination—and had followed the summary inquiry procedure which established the charge of moral turpitude

The court observed that the petitioner was given a fair opportunity to respond to the summary inquiry findings through a show-cause notice

Furthermore, the court criticized the petitioner for suppressing six critical lines in the termination memorandum annexed to the writ petition, which explained the reasons for dispensing with the regular inquiry, labeling this an attempt to "play hide-and-seek" with the court

Applying the Gunasekaran precedent, the court refused to act as a second court of appeal, noting that the inquiry was conducted by a competent authority following prescribed procedures without violating natural justice

It held that the POSH Act does not apply to minor students in this context and that the summary procedure under Article 81(B) of the KVS Education Code was appropriately exercised to protect the victim

The court concluded that there was no perversity in the findings of the inquiry committees and that the petitioner’s failure to present facts truthfully further disentitled him to discretionary relief