24-04-2025
Tamil Nadu Student In Hospital After 600 Sit-Ups, Awarded Rs 2 Lakh Compensation
Last Updated:
A schoolgirl in Tamil Nadu was hospitalised after being forced to do 600 sit-ups by her teacher who punished her for not completing a project.
In a harrowing incident that has jolted Tamil Nadu, a young schoolgirl from Sivaganga was hospitalised in critical condition after she was forced to perform 600 sit-ups over two consecutive days as punishment for not completing a school project.
The punishment, inflicted by a teacher at SS Kottai Government Higher Secondary School, led to an intervention by the Tamil Nadu State Human Rights Commission, which ordered the state government to pay Rs 2 lakh in compensation to the victim's mother.
The case traces back to October 2017, but came to a head after years of legal review and official investigation. According to the complaint filed by the girl's mother, V Pandiselvi, a Class 7 student, was first subjected to 200 sit-ups on October 24 by her Tamil teacher. The following day, the punishment intensified when she was compelled to do another 400 sit-ups.
The girl, who had just begun menstruating, returned home in a state of extreme fatigue and promptly collapsed. She began experiencing acute abdominal pain, heavy bleeding, and vomiting, prompting her family to rush her to Sivaganga Medical College, where she remained in the Intensive Care Unit for 6 days.
Medical records and testimony presented during the enquiry supported the mother's claim that the punishment severely aggravated the girl's physical condition.
The Tamil Nadu Human Rights Commission launched an enquiry into the matter after receiving the complaint, seeking a detailed report from the state's Department of School Education. The departmental report confirmed that the student had indeed been subjected to the extreme physical punishment due to her failure to submit a project assignment.
Commission member V Kannadasan, who presided over the case, noted that the teacher in question failed to provide any response or explanation during the proceedings. Based on official documentation and testimonies, the Commission concluded that the incident constituted a clear violation of the student's human rights.
The girl was subjected to inhumane and degrading treatment under the guise of school discipline, said Kannadasan in the Commission's final ruling, adding that the psychological and physical trauma caused by such actions cannot be justified under any circumstance.
In its verdict, the Commission directed the Tamil Nadu government to disburse a compensation amount of Rs 2 lakh to the girl's mother. It also recommended that the state's Education Department take disciplinary action against the teacher responsible.
First Published:
