New Delhi, March 4 (IANS) Stating that school teachers should be “role models of society”, the Supreme Court sacked a “goonda” teacher of a Rajasthan government school for assaulting the principal. A bench of Justices H.K. Sema and Markandey Katju ordered the sacking of a Kendriya Vidyalaya teacher of Surtagarh in Rajasthan, while setting aside the ruling of the Jaipur High Court and the city’s Central Administrative Tribunal against his removal from service.

“A teacher has to be a role model of society. He is a ‘guru’ who sets an example for students. A person, who physically assaults the principal of the institution, is in our opinion, not fit to be a teacher. He is more like a goonda,” the apex court said Feb 29. The ruling was released Tuesday.

“There was no good ground for the tribunal and the high court to interfere with the punishment awarded to the respondent by the school authorities,” said the bench.

The case related to Satbir Singh Mahla, a trained graduate teacher in mathematics of the Kendriya Vidyalaya at Air Force station, Suratgarh.

In Feb 1999, Mahala assaulted school principal R.D. Shah in his office, causing serious injury to his right eye.

Though the teacher gave a written apology the next day, the school authorities rejected it and ordered his removal after an inquiry found him guilty.

On appeals by the teacher, the CAT and then the Rajasthan High Court, the school authorities reinstated the teacher. However, the apex court ordered his sacking.