Thiruvananthapuram: Two class 12 students were expelled from their school St Thomas Central School after their friendly hug after an event was termed as a ‘prolonged hug’.
The incident happened in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram district where the school authorities have dismissed both the students after they found their hug inappropriate.
Four months later the expelled student said he wants to appear on his Boards and not lose a year on Tuesday.
Sebastian Joseph School’s principal on Tuesday said that hug was a prolonged one and longer than the usual congratulatory hug which lasted for five minutes and was witnessed by teachers.
“During inquiry, it was found that he was guilty. His parents didn’t co-operate… He had also posted some indecent pictures of both of them on Instagram,” he added.
The boy defending himself said it was a friendly hug which was of three to five seconds and that he didn’t hug her in a secluded place.
He said, “A teacher walked past us, started shouting and took us to the Vice Principal. I was told to apologize and I did. The teachers gave the friendly hug a sexual turn. They called my parents for the Board meeting next day.”
The boy also claims that the school’s secretary has used inappropriate and sexual slurs while describing the situation event to his parents.
“I was served a suspension letter of 50 days after the incident. They also forced the girl student to give false statements against me but she refused. I want to write the exam and not lose a year,” he added.
Now the parents have decided to challenge the single bench order of HC which maintained the school’s decision and had also quashed the interim order of Child Rights commission which has held school’s decision to expel the two students illegal.
Speaking to DC, the boy’s father said, “We have decided to challenge the order before the division bench,” who has quit his job to provide emotional support to his son.
The school teacher’s complaint against the two students witnessing the hug after she had performed in a western music competition on July 21 appeared in media last week.
Despite the students gave their written apologies, the school authorities had summoned notices to their parents.
The boy’s father claimed that the Rajan Verghese school’s secretary Rajan Verghese has addressed his child as ‘vithukala’ meaning ‘bull in heat’. “He even asked me to kill my son,” he told.