The Kerala High Court on Thursday (13th August) sought the response of the Congress-led government in Kerala on the plea of the teacher who was suspended for framing a quiz question relating to freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. The teacher, Guruprasad Rai, had approached the High Court seeking quashing of the suspension order issued against him. He also sought a stay on the suspension order until the Court decides on his plea.
The plea was heard by Justice Viju Abraham, who remarked if suspension was the appropriate action in the matter when the option to initiate disciplinary proceedings was open. “For such an issue, should there be a suspension is the question … You can go on with the disciplinary proceedings… but can suspension be a punishment (in such matters)?” Justice Viju Abraham asked.
As per reports, the reason that Rai was suspended by the state government was that he framed a question on V.D. Savarkar for an inter-school competition titled ‘Social Science Club Freedom Quiz 2026’ held on August 6 in Kasargod district. The question read, “Who was the freedom fighter who received the most punishment from the British?” The answer to the question was V. D. Savarkar.
A controversy erupted over the question and its answer, sparking protests. The State Education Minister and the Indian Union Muslim League (MLA), N Samsudheen, reportedly did not like the answer to the question and described this as a distortion of history. An enquiry was conducted by the Deputy Director of Education, after which the petitioner was placed under suspension and disciplinary proceedings were sought to be initiated against him. Eventually, Rai was suspended on 9th August.
The teacher said that he was suspended on the oral instructions of the Education Minister and in violation of the rules. “The decision of the individual minister cannot be treated as the decision of the State Government and Ext P2 (letter directing suspension) and P3 (suspension order) issued as a result of the decision of the individual minister which are in violation of business rules are void ab initio and all actions consequent thereto are null and void,” the plea stated.
The teacher said that his answer to the quiz question was factually correct and that he was suspended because the answer would not be liked by a certain section of society. “The entire exercise undertaken by the respondents has been based on the feelings of a section of people and not based on any substance. There is no finding either in Ext P2 letter or in Ext P3 order to show that the controverted answer was not the correct answer to the subject question … Late V.D. Sarvarkar was a freedom fighter known across the country. His arrest and incarceration spanning from 1910 to 1937 is etched in the annals of history,” he said, adding that his suspension was politically motivated and therefore liable to be set aside.
Notably, V.D. Savarkar was a revolutionary freedom fighter who played an invaluable role in India’s freedom struggle. His participation in the freedom struggle brought him into conflict with the British regime. He was granted two separate terms of transportation for life, which were ordered to run consecutively. He was sent to the Cellular Jail in the Andaman Islands, commonly known as Kala Pani, to undergo his sentence. During his confinement in the Cellular Jail, Savarkar was subjected to hard labour and partial solitary confinement.
