Veterinary Student Death: Kerala High Court Permits Family To Withdraw ₹7 Lakh Awarded By NHRC

The Kerala High Court on Friday (August 8) passed an interim order permitting the parents of deceased veterinary student Sidharthan J.S., who allegedly committed suicide last year, to withdraw the amount of Rupees 7 Lakh deposited by the state government with the Registry as per the high court's earlier direction.After admitting the petition, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Basant Balaji observed:"...Petition is admitted. In the meanwhile, we permit respondent no 3 and 4 to withdraw the amount deposited on an undertaking being filed in this court that the withdrawal will be subject to the outcome of this petition."The amount was awarded by the National Human Rights Commission to the legal heirs of Sidharthan in its order dated 01.10.2024. The present writ petition was filed by the state government challenging the said award. Earlier, Sidharthan's parents were suo-motu impleaded by the Court as respondents 3 and 4.When the matter came up, the counsel representing Sidharthan's parents submitted to the Court that an affidavit has been filed by them. It was stated that though the family is going through financial difficulty, the portrayal that a monetary award would compensate for the loss of their son is unbearable.The counsel further submitted that no amount would compensate for the loss suffered by the parents and that deceased's mother had come before the Court several times to seek justice. Upon hearing the same, the Court added, "The learned counsel for respondents 3 and 4 states that the other remedies, if open, to respondents 3 and 4 in law be not foreclosed because of the permission to withdraw. It is needless to issue this clarification because in this matter we are only considering the challenge to the order passed by the NHRC. In that context, we have permitted respondents 3 and 4 to withdraw the amount.”The counsel, thereafter, submitted that there is an emotional dilemma in withdrawing the amount and prayed that the Court may direct the Registry to deposit the amount in any nationalised bank instead.Thereupon, the Court orally stated that it has left it open to them and granted them liberty to take whatever steps are needed.The case is posted on September 8 for hearing.BackgroundSidharthan was a second-year Bachelor of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry student at the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Pookode in Wayanad who allegedly committed suicide on February 18, 2024. It was alleged that this was because of ragging and brutal assault by some of his classmates and seniors.In December 2024, a single bench had quashed the order expelling the accused students and allowed them to take re-admission at the Mannuthy campus. The single bench also directed fresh disciplinary enquiry against the accused.Aggrieved by the order of the single judge, Sidharthan's mother had filed a writ appeal before the division bench. Since she was not a party in the writ petition, she sought leave to file a third-party appeal and was granted leave to appeal. In May, the appeal was disposed of recording the report of the college, which had expelled all the 19 students and debarred them for three years. The anti-ragging committee had also found them to be indulging in and abetting in ragging.Case Title: State of Kerala v. Sandeep Vaachaspati and Ors.Case No: WP(C) No. 23660/2025Click To Read/Download Order

Veterinary Student Death: Kerala High Court Permits Family To Withdraw ₹7 Lakh Awarded By NHRC

K. Salma Jennath

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