FR petition filed by Gateway parent dismissed

Colombo (News 1st): The Supreme Court on March 22nd  dismissed the fundamental rights petition filed by the mother of a student from Gateway College, Negombo. The order was made with regard to a petition filed against the punishment given to a student.  It was revealed a class teacher had asked nine students in the 5th grade of the College to kneel for 5 minutes for failing to bring their English books to school. News 1st reporters said the parents of one student had made complaints at the Child Protection Authority and the Police. The case is being taken up at Negombo Court. The parent had later filed the FR Petition in the Supreme Court. The case was taken up before a bench comprising Justices Buwaneka Aluvihara, Priyantha Jayawardena and Preethi Padman Surasena. Gateway College was represented by President's Counsel Romesh De Silva. The judges accepted the preliminary objections raised by the president's counsel stating that the actions taken by the teacher for the benefit of the student cannot be considered as a violation of her fundamental rights. The Supreme Court decided to dismiss the petition without even taking it into consideration.