Supreme Court Denies Bail to Professor in Dalit Student's Case

The Supreme Court has denied anticipatory bail to Dr. M Kodanda Ram, accused of verbally harassing Dalit student Nithin Raj, leading to his suicide. Despite arguments that the incident occurred a month before the death, the court deemed the professor's behavior 'inhuman.' The appeal was subsequently dismissed.

The Supreme Court has refused anticipatory bail to Dr. M Kodanda Ram, a professor at Kannur Dental College, indicted for verbally harassing Dalit student Nithin Raj, who committed suicide in April. The judgment follows an appeal against a Kerala High Court ruling denying the professor bail.

Senior advocate DS Naidu, defending the professor, contended that the alleged classroom altercation transpired a month prior to the student's demise and argued it was not the immediate cause of the suicide. He claimed the student's reprimand by the principal over a loan procured through a mobile app, using a professor's name as a guarantor, preceded the suicide by an hour. Naidu further claimed the case lacked caste-related remarks, suggesting misuse of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, which could deter educators from maintaining discipline.

However, the court was not persuaded, describing the professor's alleged conduct as 'inhuman.' Justice Mehta queried the professor's manner of addressing students, suggesting the prior humiliation could have been a decisive factor in the student's drastic action. The court dismissed the notion that the subsequent loan reprimand alone incited the suicide, emphasizing educators cannot engage in such conduct.