Under investigation for firing transwoman teacher Jane Kaushik on grounds of her gender identity, a private school in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur-Kheri district has now sent a defamation notice to her, seeking ₹1 crore in damages and threatening to institute court proceedings if the amount is not paid.
The Hindu had on December 7 reported that Ms. Kaushik was terminated by the Uma Devi Children’s Academy within a week of being appointed to teach Social Science and English. She had alleged that she was asked to keep her gender identity secret when she reported for duty and that the principal had “forced” her to resign saying students and teachers had found out about her gender. The school insisted that she was terminated because of her lack of knowledge in Social Science.
The next day, the National Commission for Women (NCW) had taken cognisance of the report and ordered an investigation by district authorities into Ms. Kaushik’s termination. However, the same day the school sent a defamation notice to Ms. Kaushik denying her allegations.
In the notice, which reached Ms. Kaushik on December 13, the school claimed that she had conspired to defame the administration, which had resulted in damage to the school’s image in civil society.
Soon after, Ms. Kaushik, through her lawyers, sent a reply on December 28 to the notice vehemently denying the allegations. Ms. Kaushik’s lawyers told The Hindu that they are yet to hear back from the school and neither have they received any notice of a suit having been instituted in any court.
Panel’s clean chit
The district-level committee has submitted a report to the NCW giving a clean chit to school authorities, concluding that the school was not guilty of discrimination on the basis of gender. The four-member panel cited the statements of the school principal, teachers and 20 students.
It noted that the school had decided to hire her despite knowing of her trans identity and thus could not be accused of gender-based discrimination.
However, this contradicts what the school had said in a press note issued on December 10 after reports of her termination, in which it claimed that they were unaware of Ms. Kaushik’s trans identity until she started speaking to the press.
The NCW has received the report and sent it to Ms. Kaushik for her comments as it continues its proceedings.
“This report is clearly biased. The committee has disregarded the proofs I submitted and only taken on record statements by officials and students who could have easily been influenced by the school,” Ms. Kaushik told The Hindu.
