The Kerala High Court on Thursday (August 13) sought the State's response to a plea by Guruprasad Rai K., a teacher who was suspended for including V.D. Savarkar's name in a quiz on freedom fighters.

Justice Viju Abraham granted time till Monday (August 17) for the government pleader to take instructions in the matter and to apprise the Court about reasons for suspension.

According to the teacher's plea, the quiz prepared under his supervision had included the question "Which freedom fighter received the maximum punishment from the Britishers?", the answer to which was set as 'V.D. Savarkar'.

The question was prepared for an inter-school competition titled 'Social Science Club Freedom Quiz 2026' held on August 6 in Kasargod district.

The plea has stated that the inclusion of the question/answer had become a subject of controversy, which led to an enquiry by the Deputy Director of Education. Based on the enquiry and recommendation, the petitioner was placed under suspension and disciplinary proceedings were sought to be initiated against him.

As per the plea, order has been issued under the direction from the Minister of General Education Department and the same was issued in violation of the Rules of the Business of the Government of Kerala.

Aggrieved by the action, the petitioner sought the intervention of the High Court. He challenged the actions taken against him as violative of the Kerala Education Act.

He has sought to quash the memo of charges, the suspension order and the DDE's letter. The same prayers are sought for in the interim.

Case No: WP(C) 27818/2026

Case Title: Guruprasad Rai K. v. State of Kerala and Ors.

The petition is moved by Advocates K.S. Bharathan, Aadithyan S. Mannali, Ronit Zachariah, Sagith Kumar V., Hemanth H., and S. Krishna.