Veterinary Student Death: Kerala High Court Disposes Mother's Appeal Against Order Halting Expulsion Of Accused Students

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday (May 28) disposed of appeals moved by the mother of veterinary student Sidharthan J.S., who allegedly committed suicide last year. The writ appeals were filed against a single judge's order, which had quashed the expulsion of nineteen students of the College of Veterinary & Animal Sciences at Mannuthy. The Division Bench of Justice Amit Rawal and Justice K.V. Jayakumar has passed the judgment in the mother's appeal as well as connected appeals, in accordance with the finding of the respondent University.The University had earlier passed order debarring these eighteen students, who were implicated as accused in the case, for three years. With respect to the finding of the anti-ragging committee, the Court observed:"...They have been found to be indulging into abetment of committing ragging, conspiracy, unlawful assembly, violation of decency and morals through ragging, denial of medical help during ragging, physical and psychological humiliation through ragging, wrongful confinement during ragging. The order is taken on record and marked as Ext.X1. In this view of the matter, no further orders are required." 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. Crime was registered against eighteen persons under Sections 341, 323, 324, 342, and 306 read with Section 34 of the IPC and Sections 3 and 4 of Kerala Prohibition of Ragging Act, 1998. The investigation was taken over by the CBI and they filed a final report stating that 19 accused persons had committed offences punishable under Section 120B, 341, 323, 324, 355, 306, 506 of IPC and under Sections 4 and 3 of the Kerala Prohibition of Ragging Act, 1998 and substantive offences thereof. The High Court had earlier granted bail to the students who were accused of abetting Sidharthan's suicide.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, the mother of Sidharthan 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. The Division Bench, while granting a stay on the order of the Single Bench, also stated that the mother should also be given a hearing opportunity while the fresh disciplinary enquiry is being conducted by the University.Case Title: Sheeba M.R. v. Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University and Connected CasesCase No: WA 268/ 2025 and Connected CasesCitation: 2025 LiveLaw (Ker) 299Counsel for the Appellants: George Poonthottam (Sr.), Nisha George, Kavya Varma M. M.Counsel for the Respondents: B. Deepak, P.C. Sasidharan, Karthik Bhavadasan, Manu Govind, SC, Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences UniversityClick to Read/Download Judgment

Veterinary Student Death: Kerala High Court Disposes Mother's Appeal Against Order Halting Expulsion Of Accused Students

K. Salma Jennath

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