India, Jan. 31 -- The Bombay High Court has upheld the summary termination of a probationary assistant teacher (shikshan sevak) for allegedly harassing a female student by sending her personal messages via WhatsApp.

"The very fact that a teacher was admittedly in contact with students outside the classroom and outside work hours would be adequate to hold that such contact is inappropriate, and such behaviour is not satisfactory," the high court said while upholding the teacher's summary dismissal.

The petitioner was appointed shikshan sevak on February 29, 2020, for a period of three years, with the probation period ending on February 28, 2023. On December 23, 2022, parents of a student complained to the school, alleging the teacher was...