Kerala child rights panel files case against CPM leader KT Jaleel over student reprimand row

The Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR) on Monday registered a suo motu case against CPM leader and former Higher Education Minister KT Jaleel for publicly reprimanding students and allegedly causing them mental distress during a felicitation event.

The case stems from an incident at a “Vijayotsavam” merit evening organised in Mannarkkad, Palakkad, to felicitate top-performing SSLC and Plus Two students.

Advertisement

The Child Rights Commission registered the case after television channels broadcast footage of Jaleel’s controversial actions.

The visuals showed Jaleel publicly questioning Class 10 students who had secured top grades about whether they knew the basic alphabet. He also reportedly summoned a student to the stage and pulled the child’s ear after the student made a mistake while writing an address.

Jaleel was inaugurating the “Vijayotsavam” merit evening function organised in Mannarkkad, Palakkad, to honour high-scoring SSLC (Class 10) and Plus Two students. During his address, Jaleel invited students who had secured top A-plus grades onto the stage to test their knowledge, questioning whether they even knew the alphabet.

He instructed a student who had scored high marks in Hindi to write an address or their parents’ names on stage. When the student made a spelling error, Jaleel publicly rebuked the child by asking, “Don’t you know how to write an address?” and pulled or pinched the child’s ear in front of the audience.

The incident triggered widespread outrage across political and social circles.

Observing that the former minister’s behaviour had caused severe mental distress to the children, the Child Rights Commission initiated a formal probe. It directed the Palakkad District Child Protection Officer to collect detailed reports from the local police and the Education Department.

Responding to the growing controversy, Jaleel denied intentionally causing mental distress or pain. He stated that, as a former teacher, his actions were a “corrective gesture” and a friendly admonition intended to help the student learn rather than publicly insult him. He said that the student was smiling at the time and that the context of his interactive speech had been misunderstood.