Supreme Court Denies Bail to Professor in Dalit Student Harassment Case

The Supreme Court has refused anticipatory bail to Dr. M Kodanda Ram, a Kannur Dental College professor accused of harassing a Dalit student who later died by suicide. Despite legal arguments citing the timeline and nature of the incident, the court upheld the decision against bail, citing inhuman conduct.

The Supreme Court on Monday refused anticipatory bail for Kannur Dental College professor Dr. M Kodanda Ram. The professor is accused of verbally harassing Dalit student Nithin Raj, who died by suicide in April.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta rejected his appeal against the Kerala High Court's earlier ruling. Senior advocate DS Naidu, representing Dr. Ram, argued that the incident took place nearly a month before the student's death and could not have been the immediate cause.

Naidu added that the student had been reprimanded over a loan app issue shortly before his death. However, the court highlighted the professor's behavior as 'inhuman' and dismissed the bail plea, citing the potential role of the alleged harassment in the tragic outcome.