‘Inhuman’: Supreme Court rejects Kerala teacher’s anticipatory bail in student suicide case

4 min readNew DelhiJul 13, 2026 04:03 PM IST

Nithin Raj, 22, died following a fall from the fifth floor of the college building on April 10, 2026. (File Photo)

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected the anticipatory bail plea of a Kerala college teacher facing charges of abetment of suicide of a dental student, saying he has to “realise the consequences of his actions”.

“The message has to go that you cannot behave in this way with the students,” a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta said while denying bail to M K Ram, who was the head of the department at Anjarakandy Dental College in Kannur.

After Nithin Raj, 22, died following a fall from the fifth floor of the college building on April 10, 2026, allegations emerged that he had been repeatedly subjected to insults and humiliation by his college teachers regarding his caste, complexion, and his parents being daily wage labourers.

His family and some fellow students alleged that he had taken his life following harassment by Ram and another faculty member, Sangeetha Nambiar.

Defence arguments

Appearing for Ram, Senior Advocate D S Naidu submitted that the alleged incident of humiliation happened a month before the suicide, and there was no proximity between the two incidents. Naidu pointed out that just before Raj’s death, he was harassed by loan recovery agents as he had taken a loan of Rs 14,000.

According to the police, Raj availed the loan using a mobile app. Thereafter, recovery agents sent several messages to him and even contacted one of his teachers, who was listed as a guarantor for the loan, apparently believing her to be his mother because of the similarity in their names. The teacher complained about it to the principal, who then reprimanded Raj.

Naidu contended that the loan incident, which took place before his suicide, may have been the immediate trigger. He said that though Ram could have been “harsh” with students, denying him pre-arrest bail would have a “chilling effect” on teachers who try to maintain discipline in educational institutions.

‘Tipping point’

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The Supreme Court rejected the argument that not granting Ram anticipatory bail would demoralise teachers and stop them from ensuring discipline. “It will have a wonderful effect for the students that a teacher can’t walk away with this kind of behaviour,” the bench said.

“As they say, ghada bhar jata hai (a Hindi idiom which means to reach a breaking point). A student is insulted in the classroom in the presence of other students. What would be the ultimate impact on such students?” Justice Mehta asked.

“Inhuman is the only word that comes to mind. How does he address the students?” the bench asked.

On the argument that there was no proximity between the two incidents, the court said, “Ultimately, it was a tipping point.”

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Naidu said the professor had already learnt his lesson, but the bench did not relent.

Ram is facing charges of abetment of suicide under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and also under sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, which penalise caste-based public humiliation and provide enhanced punishment for offences committed because the victim belongs to an SC/ST community.

While the sessions court granted bail to Nambiar, it denied relief to Ram. The Kerala High Court also dismissed his bail plea, following which he approached the top court.