No Question Of Closure Report In Minor's Suicide Case: Karnataka High Court Reserves Order In Abetment Case Against Fellow Students, Staff

Noting that a B report in a minor's suicide abetment case is unimaginable, the Karnataka High Court has reserved its orders about the closure of FIR registered against a school and its teachers for alleged abetment.

“If a girl child of 15 years age dies on account of harassment of other students, and the principal and students are constantly criticising her marks…In a Section 305 case where the child is dead, there is no question of a B Report getting filed,” Justice M Nagaprasanna remarked.

The plea filed by the mother before the High Court challenges a trial court order that accepted the B report filed by the police in an FIR registered under Sections 306(abetment to suicide), 34(common intention) IPC lodged against the management, principal and teachers of a school where her daughter was studying. The plea thus sought a direction to reject the B report filed by the police

The counsel for the petitioner-mother submitted that the Police have filed a B Report. The police had conducted an investigation after the body of petitioner's daughter was found on the railway tracks. A death note written by the victim child was also recovered as per the petitioner.

The state submitted that there was a delay of one year and 10 days after the incident for the mother to file the complaint. The petitioner responded that there was an Unnatural Death Report after a missing persons' case was registered initially. The petitioner had approached the police multiple times to register a complaint, but her request was refused by the police.

The trial court had initially rejected the B Report and asked the police to file a final report, contended the petitioner. The same B report has been reproduced and resubmitted in its entirety before the same court. However, the B report was accepted the second time, and the complaint was closed, the petitioner orally submitted today before the single judge bench.

She may not have been able to rise to the standards of her own expectations, and the school management cannot be burdened with her academic failure, argued the counsel for the school management.

The deceased may not have been psychologically adjusted to the new syllabus, the court opined.

“We can't wholly absolve the Principal or the teachers at this juncture, but the management may not be liable”, the court added orally.

On March 5, the Karnataka High Court orally questioned the State for filing a B-report in a FIR registered against a school and its teachers for alleged abetment of a student's suicide.

During the hearing Justice M Nagaprasanna had orally questioned how could the police even file a B report in a Section 306 case. After reprimanding the police for their faulty investigation, the court also inferred that the invocation of Section 306 itself was wrong since the victim was a 15-year-old student which necessitated the application of Section 305 IPC. The court, therefore, required the state to produce the records.

During the hearing, the petitioner's counsel submitted that the petitioner's child was subjected to harassment by fellow students. It was submitted that the mother had given a statement. However, the same was not considered by the police. Further, it was submitted that It was also submitted the mother had complained to the school that her child was being harassed by other students on several occasions. However, the administration allegedly did not take any action on that.

The respondents earlier contended that the student was scoring less marks; due to "depression", she had committed suicide.

Case title: Smt. Kavitha Murthy V/S The State Of Karnataka & Others

Case No: CRL.P 17375/2025