Kannur dental college BDS death case: Court denies bail to Anatomy HoD, grants relief to another faculty

Kannur: The Kannur District and Principal Sessions Court has rejected the anticipatory bail plea of the main accused doctor in the death of a student at Kannur Dental College, while granting relief to another faculty member.

The court denied bail to former Anatomy HOD but granted anticipatory bail to faculty in the case linked to the death of first-year BDS student, who was found dead on campus earlier this month.

According to PTI report, the court on Saturday dismissed the anticipatory bail plea of the main accused doctor. Kannur District and Principal Sessions Court in-charge Judge Vimal J rejected the anticipatory bail petition of prime accused former head of the Anatomy Department at Kannur Dental College, a private management institution in Anjarakandy.

Another faculty member, was granted anticipatory bail. First-year BDS student 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 the doctors on charges of abetment of suicide and under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act after the student's family alleged that he had been harassed by faculty members on the basis of caste and complexion.

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Kannur Cyber Police subsequently registered a separate case after it emerged that the student had borrowed money through a loan app and that its operators had contacted his teacher, who then complained to college authorities.

Following the student's death, both accused doctors went into hiding and approached the court seeking anticipatory bail. During the hearing, the HoD denied harassing the student on the basis of caste or complexion.

He contended that he was "weak in studies" and that he had only advised him to improve, as his internal marks were very low. The doctor further claimed that he was under pressure due to harassment by loan app operators and denied any role in the student’s death.

He 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.

The other faculty maintained that she had no involvement in the case and had never harassed the student in any manner. The prosecution opposed the bail pleas of both faculty members.

It is submitted that HoD 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 the student, the prosecution alleged that HOD had instigated a teacher to lodge a complaint against the student 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 HoD 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 student allegedly failed to bring his parents to a PTA meeting.

During the quarrel, HOD allegedly criticised the student 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, student 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 HOD 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 HOD did not specifically target student 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 the other faculty, the court observed that there were no allegations against her in the witness statements. "None of the witnesses has stated that *** used any caste name or slur against any of the students," the court observed.

Denying anticipatory bail to the main accused HOD, 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, reports PTI

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 the faculty, 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.

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