Forging attendance: Couple acquitted

Nikhila Pant Dhawan

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, March 25

The court of Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Phul, has acquitted an ETT teacher and his wife, a headmistress, in a case of forging attendance and absenteeism records of the school.

On January 14, 2014, following a surprise check at the Government Elementary School, Ganda Banna, by a Bathinda Zila Parishad team on the directions of Zila Parishad chairman Gurpreet Singh Maluka, state president of the ETT Teachers’ Union, Jagsir Sahota, was found absent from the school.

It was also alleged that his wife Archana, who was the headmistress of the school, had approved Sahota’s half-day leave while he was absent from school for the entire day.

Taking a serious note of Sahota’s absence, Zila Parishad member Karnail Singh had got a case registered under Sections 420, 467, 468 and 471 of the IPC against the husband-wife duo.

It was alleged that the case was registered as Sahota had been actively campaigning for the rights and demands of ETT teachers and had been a headache for the then SAD-BJP government in the state.

During the hearing of the case in the court, defence counsel advocate Vimal Kumar and advocate NK Jeet argued that the Police Department had failed to prove Section 420 against the couple and other Sections were also found to be baseless. 

They also argued that the police took almost two years to present the challan in the case against the stipulated time of 90 days. 

After being acquitted in the case, Sahota spoke to Bathinda Tribune and said, “The case was registered against me and my wife since I had been heading protests of ETT teachers against the state government. To keep me away from the fight for the rights of the teachers, the then SAD-BJP government booked me to divert my attention from the protest.”