Teacher denied justice for 25 yrs

A government school has turned a deaf ear to court orders to reinstate a teacher it sacked nearly 15 years ago and give her all the benefits commensurate to her service.

The teacher, P M Annapoorna, was forced to frequently approach the courts for justice. On Friday, Justice A S Bopanna issued notices to the state government and deputy director of public instruction, besides dispatching an emergent notice to the Asangi Maruthi High School and its English teachers E N Manjunath, Lakshmi R and Amaresh.

The school appointed Annapoorna as a teacher in 1991 and she continued her services until 2002, when she was removed without notice despite the high court order to the school to consider her representation within eight weeks.

In 2003, Annapoorna filed a petition before the Additional City Civil Judge, who, in 2005, ordered the school to reinstate her to the post she held on the date of termination. The court also ordered that Annapoorna is entitled to all consequential benefits from the date of termination.

On the court’s direction, the school deposited Rs 1 lakh in her account, but the cheque bounced because her name was wrongly mentioned as B M Annapoorna instead of P M Annapoorna.

The school dodged the orders of the high court and other courts, going to the extent of avoiding an arrest warrant and appointing another teacher in Annapoorna’s position. It also failed to pay Annapoorna’s arrears that run into more than Rs 60 lakh. The teacher was made to run from pillar to post due to the school’s harassment.