Kerala High Court pauses teacher's suspension over Savarkar quiz amid row

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday paused for one month the suspension of an aided upper primary school teacher who was suspended over a quiz question on Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar. The interim order came on a plea by teacher Guruprasad Rai K, who challenged his suspension after Savarkar was listed as the answer to the question, "Who is the freedom fighter who received the maximum punishment at the hands of the British?"Justice Viju Abraham said the inquiry against Rai should continue, but added that his continued suspension was not necessary for its proper conduct given the nature of the allegations. The court listed the matter for September 18.In the order, the judge said: "Taking into consideration the allegation raised against the petitioner (Rai), I am of the opinion that the enquiry initiated shall continue, but at the same time, I am of the view that the continued suspension of the petitioner is not required for the proper conduct of the enquiry, taking into consideration the nature of allegations raised against him. In the light of the above discussion, I am inclined to pass an interim order staying the operation of the order of suspension for a period of one month."The court also noted that the Additional Educational Officer was aware of the wrong question because Rai had sent the question paper to him, but no objection was raised and the paper was distributed to schools. The order recorded that no action had been taken against the AEO. Earlier, on August 13, the court had asked the government what illegal act had been committed by the teacher to warrant suspension. "The teacher may have had other intentions, but can he be suspended only for putting a wrong question? What is the illegal act done by him," it had asked.The question appeared in one of the papers prepared for the school-level Social Science Club Freedom Quiz 2026 held on August 6 for students in the Lower Primary, Upper Primary and High School sections in areas of Kasargod district. The Lower Primary questionnaire had 15 questions and five tie-breaker questions, and one of them was the controversial query that led to protests and an inquiry by education authorities. After that, Director General of General Education Snehil Kumar Singh suspended Rai, a move that has now been paused for a month while the inquiry continues.- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Aug 20, 2026 07:11 IST