The grandparents of a 12-year-old boy are suing a Saskatchewan school division after a vice principal at a Prince Albert school read one of his text messages. The case is sparking debate over whether the student's privacy was violated.

It all stems from an incident that took place in May of last year, when a 12-year-old boy in the Saskatchewan Rivers School Division had his cell phone confiscated after he was found using it during class.

However, rather than put the cell phone aside, the boy's grandparents say his vice principal actually looked through his text messages, which leads to the bigger question of whether or not a violation of privacy took place.

Sanjeev Anand is the Dean of the University of Saskatchewan Law School. "School authorities have the power to search a young person on the property if they have reasonable grounds to believe a school rule has been violated and evidence of the violation is found on the student's person."

According to court documents obtained by CTV, the vice principal came across a text message that read "we stole a vehicle." The boy was brought to his office and questioned about it.

His grandparents say the vice principal told him that if he didn't give up the identity of the person who messaged him, he would call city police. The boy said he couldn't give him the person's name, so the Prince Albert police were called in and eventually a stolen vehicle was located.

"Certainly the police are under an obligation, legal, ethical, constitutional to protect the identities and safeguard the well-being of informants," says Anand.

But in court documents, the boy's family says: "… because of the actions of the defendant... The consequential actions of the Prince Albert city police in driving the minor to the location of the stolen vehicle, the plaintiff's grandparents have been in constant fear of retaliation...against the minor."

The grandparents are so worried the boy may be harmed, they drive him out of the city every weekend to stay with relatives in other parts of the province. Now, the family is seeking compensation. They want payment of special damages in the sum of $1,423 to cover travelling expenses, and punitive damages in a sum exceeding $50,000.

When asked to comment both the Saskatchewan Rivers School Division and the Prince Albert Police Service declined to comment, saying it would be inappropriate to do so as the case continues to unfold.