Dental Student Suicide: Kerala Court Denies Pre-Arrest Bail To Accused College Principal, Associate Professor

A Kerala Court on Monday (October 26) refused to grant anticipatory bail to Dr. Vinod Mony and Dr. Latha Sasidharan, the 4th and 5th accused in the suicide abetment case of Kannur dental college student Nithin Raj.

Dr. Mony is the Principal of the college and Dr. Latha is an Associate Professor in Bio-Chemistry at the college.

Sri. Manoj M., Special Judge/Sessions Judge (Thalassery) dismissed the plea preferred jointly by the two after noting that the existence of a prima facie case of abetment of suicide is made out to attract the bar against grant of anticipatory bails:

"On consideration of the allegations levelled against the petitioners..., the existence of a prima facie case of abetment of suicide is made out and therefore Section 3 (2)(v) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act also will be attracted. In the said circumstances, the bar under Section 18 and 18A of the Act is attracted and this application for anticipatory bail is not maintainable. Thus, I hold that this application for anticipatory bail is not maintainable in view of the bar under Section 18 and 18A of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Consequently, this bail application is dismissed."

The prosecution allegation was accused persons, including prime accused Dr. Kodanda Ram, constantly harassed, humiliated and insulted Nithin Raj in public, threatened him and insulted him for his Scheduled Caste status, causing severe mental stress and strain to him. It is further alleged that as a result, he committed suicide on April 10 by jumping down from the second floor of a campus building.

It is alleged that Nithin had borrowed some money from an online Loan App and that he had given the reference number of Dr. Latha due to the threats made by the members of the Loan App upon his failure to repay the amount. It is further alleged that she complained about the repeated calls made by the loan app financiers to Dr. Mony, who had called Nithin into the Principal's room where he and Dr. Latha questioned him. The specific allegation against Dr. Latha is that she threatened to slap his chin and scolded him. The specific allegation against Dr. Mony is that he threatened the deceased by saying that if he shows pranks like this, he would be expelled from the college. They are thus accused of abetting the suicide.

The petitioners contended that they are innocent and that they were arrayed due to the pressure exerted on the investigating agency as a result of excessive media coverage in the case. They argued that there is no material to show that they deliberately intended to cause the suicide. It was stated that Dr. Mony, being Principal, was dutybound to call for an explanation in a situation like this and that Dr. Latha was also justified in raising a grievance considering the circumstances. They also stated that they were not aware of the status of Nithin Raj or about his caste. 

The prosecution produced a pendrive with the CCTV footages at the Principal's office, where the petitioners shouted at him and threatened him with expulsion. It was contended that this had drove the deceased to suicide.

After hearing the parties, including Nithin Raj's father, the court observed:

"In this case, though it is not alleged that there was positive act of instigation on the part of the petitioners, in inciting the deceased to commit suicide, it is alleged that immediately after he was questioned and scolded by the petitioners, he committed suicide. The said conduct of the accused triggered the act of suicide by the deceased. It is alleged by the prosecution that the above act of the accused drove Nithin Raj to commit suicide. Thus, on considering the allegations of the prosecution against petitioners 4 and 5 at the face value, it is found that their alleged action had triggered Nithin Raj to commit suicide and there was a live link between their conduct and the suicide of the deceased."

Counsel for the petitioners: Nicholas Joseph

Counsel for the respondents: K.Ajith Kumar - Public Prosecutor, Sujith R.S.