Kannur court denies bail to Professor in student death case
A Kannur court denied anticipatory bail to former anatomy head M K Ram in a student suicide case while granting relief to Dr Sangeetha Nambiar. The court cited harassment allegations, strict classroom conduct, and ongoing investigation needs
Kannur (Kerala): A court on Saturday dismissed the anticipatory bail plea of the main accused doctor in connection with the death of a student at Kannur Dental College, while granting relief to another faculty member.
Kannur District and Principal Sessions Court in-charge Judge Vimal J rejected the anticipatory bail petition of prime accused Dr M K Ram, former head of the Anatomy Department at Kannur Dental College, a private management institution in Anjarakandy. Another faculty member, Dr Sangeetha Nambiar, was granted anticipatory bail. First-year BDS student Nithin Raj was found dead on April 10 after falling from a building on the college campus in a suspected suicide.
Though police initially registered a case of unnatural death, they later arraigned Ram and Nambiar on charges of abetment of suicide and under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act after Raj’s family alleged that he had been harassed by faculty members on the basis of caste and complexion.
Kannur Cyber Police subsequently registered a separate case after it emerged that Raj had borrowed money through a loan app and that its operators had contacted his teacher, who then complained to college authorities. Following Raj’s death, both Ram and Nambiar went into hiding and approached the court seeking anticipatory bail.
During the hearing, Ram denied harassing Raj on the basis of caste or complexion.
He contended that Raj was “weak in studies” and that he had only advised him to improve, as his internal marks were very low.
Ram further claimed that Raj was under pressure due to harassment by loan app operators and denied any role in the student’s death. Ram also claimed that he belongs to the Bajethri community in support of his contention that provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act could not be invoked against him.
However, the prosecution opposed the claim, contending that the Bajethri community is classified as an Other Backward Class (OBC) and alleging that the accused had attempted to mislead the court on his caste status.
Nambiar maintained that she had no involvement in the case and had never harassed Raj in any manner.
The prosecution opposed the bail pleas of both faculty members. It is submitted that Ram was present in the vicinity of the Principal’s room around the relevant time before the student’s death.
Relying on CCTV visuals just before the death of Raj, the prosecution alleged that Ram had instigated a teacher named Latha to lodge a complaint against Raj over the loan app matter and that the alleged instigation ultimately drove the student to commit suicide.
The court observed that whether the deceased was driven to commit suicide due to threat, intimidation or harassment was a matter to be ascertained during investigation and that several surrounding circumstances required detailed examination. Referring to statements of three students recorded during the investigation, the court said Ram was described as “harsh, strict and humiliating” in class.
“It is specifically stated that he had the habit of knocking the heads of students who failed to answer questions in class. He also regularly imposed fines on students for not bringing textbooks and used insulting language against students generally,” the court noted.
The court also referred to an altercation on March 13, 2026, after Raj allegedly failed to bring his parents to a PTA meeting. During the quarrel, Ram allegedly criticised Raj’s answer sheet, termed his answers irrelevant, called him “the worst dog”, and questioned how he had secured admission, the order said.
According to the court, Raj reacted angrily by saying, “I don’t want to study in this college,” before leaving the class. The court noted that no witness had stated that Ram used caste slurs or casteist remarks against the deceased.
“There is no whisper of a statement from any witness to the effect that the first accused used caste slurs or casteist remarks to attack the deceased,” the court observed. It further observed that the statements suggested Ram did not specifically target Raj and that his alleged behaviour was common towards all students.
“Therefore, there is nothing on record to prima facie indicate that the verbal abuse by the first accused was motivated solely by the fact that the deceased belonged to a Scheduled Caste,” the court said.
Similarly, while examining the records against Nambiar, the court observed that there were no allegations against her in the witness statements. “None of the witnesses has stated that Nambiar used any caste name or slur against any of the students,” the court observed.
Denying anticipatory bail to Ram, the court said, “Questioning the first accused is absolutely necessary for the effective progress of the investigation.” At the same time, the court noted that there appeared to be some substance in the contention that there had been an excessive media trial in the case.
It reminded the media that it was bound by the law laid down by the Full Bench of the Kerala High Court and could not express definitive opinions regarding the guilt or innocence of any party, directing that reporting should remain fair and measured. Granting anticipatory bail to Nambiar, the court directed that in the event of her arrest, she be released on bail on executing a bond of Rs 50,000 with two solvent sureties.
