Shimla, July 9 -- The Himachal Pradesh high court refused to quash an FIR against a school principal, holding that the absence of clinical signs of trauma in a psychologist's report cannot be a ground for the case under Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act. "A teacher calling a child a thief in the presence of the classmate and threatening to put him behind bars for life would, prima facie, cause mental suffering to him. Therefore, the FIR cannot be quashed on the ground that the clinical psychologist had not found any signs of trauma," justice Rakesh Kainthla observed. The order was passed on June 17 on a petition filed by a principal of a private school in Parwanoo, Vibha Bansal, who was booked on the allegations of publicly humiliating and mentally harassing a Class 7 student. The detailed order was uploaded on Wednesday. Bansal had moved the HC seeking quashing of the FIR registered in 2022 at Parwanoo police station under Sections 336, 337 and 504 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. The FIR was registered on the complaint of the parents of the student. Bansal had contended before the HC that the allegations were false and that an inquiry conducted by the deputy director of elementary education had found no instance of corporal punishment. She also relied on the report of a clinical psychologist, who found no signs of mental illness or trauma in the child. Rejecting the plea, the HC observed that even if the psychologist did not find evidence of trauma, the prosecution could still establish mental suffering during trial....