HC refuses pre-arrest bail to school chairman accused of abetting student’s suicide
The chairman was booked after the student took the drastic step, as he was berated and abused by the applicant in front of a teacher
Mumbai The Bombay high court (HC) recently refused anticipatory bail to a school chairman, who also happened to be the member of the school’s disciplinary committee, whose tirade resulted in a student’s suicide.
The chairman was booked after the student took the drastic step, as he was berated and abused by the applicant in front of a teacher. HC rejected his pre-arrest bail plea, observing that his custodial interrogation was necessary.
The single-judge bench of justice Vinay Joshi was informed by the counsel of the accused, advocate Hrishikesh Mundargi, that though the student died by suicide after being reprimanded earlier in the day, the act of reprimanding the student by the applicant could not be construed as sufficient instigation to commit suicide.
As per the complaint lodged by the grandfather of the deceased class X student on April 1 2022, he had received a call from the school at Shiroli MIDC, Kolhapur district asking him to take his grandson home. The grandfather was told by the applicant that his grandson had caused injury to a girl and that the youngster was ill-cultured and there were no chances of reformation as he was from the slums.
The grandfather was also told that the Principal had informed him (chairman) that in the past as well, he had misbehaved and should be rusticated. The applicant also uttered bad words to the deceased in the presence of one school teacher. Thereafter, the informant took his grandson home. Within hours, the student died by suicide.
The grandfather on April 2 lodged a complaint with the police against the chairman. The chairman was booked under sections 305, 504, 506 r/w 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sections 75 and 87 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.
Additional public prosecutor MR Tidke opposed the application contending that the applicant’s act of humiliating, abusing and continuously harassing the student amounted to sufficient instigation. The deceased student committed suicide within few hours of the incident as the applicant had created the circumstance, which caused the deceased to end his life. The court accepted the prosecutor’s submissions.
“Prima facie it appears that the applicant has created an impression in the mind of the student, which led to deep frustration. It requires to be noted that there is a direct link of the applicant’s act since within few hours from the episode, the child ended his life by suicide,” said the court.