Gurgaon: An FIR was registered against a postgraduate teacher (PGT) following a complaint lodged by the principal of a govt girls school in the city days after allegations of misconduct against him by Class IX students. The students had submitted a written complaint.

The music teacher was suspended two days after the FIR was registered. However, that the case was registered on Aug 22 has raised serious questions over the delay in action — the students had submitted the complaint against the PGT teacher on Aug 12.

Education authorities have assured that procedural lapses in timely action would be reviewed to ensure stricter adherence to child safety protocols in the future.

According to sources, instead of reporting the matter to the police immediately, the senior secondary school formed an internal committee under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act framework to “examine” the allegations. The PGT teacher continued taking classes during this period, despite serious accusations by the students. A teacher, requesting anonymity, told TOI, “The school cannot form an internal POCSO committee in this matter. It wasn’t a dispute between staff members. It was a serious complaint that should have been reported to police the same day.” The complaint was later forwarded by the principal to the Gurgaon women’s cell, following which the police visited the school.

However, it was only after mounting pressure from parents and intervention from the district education office (DEO) that the matter escalated, leading to the registration of the FIR.

Following the FIR, the Haryana school education department issued the suspension order against the teacher on Aug 24 under Rule 5 of the Haryana Civil Services (Punishment & Appeal) Rules, 2016.

The order, referencing a memo from the DEO dated Aug 24, said the teacher will receive a subsistence allowance under Rule 83 of the Haryana Civil Services (General) Rules, 2016. His headquarters during the suspension period will be the DEO office in Rewari and he cannot leave without prior approval from the competent authority.

The FIR has been filed under Section 12 of the POCSO Act — which deals with sexual harassment of a child and carries up to three years’ imprisonment and a fine — and Section 351(2) of BNS, which pertains to criminal intimidation and carries a penalty of up to two years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both.