Dalit student murder: Jharkhand High Court orders BIT Mesra to pay ₹20 lakh compensation to parents

The Jharkhand High Court on August 13 directed Birla Institute of Technology (BIT) at Mesra to pay compensation of ₹20 lakh to the parents of a dalit student who was murdered on its campus last year.

Justice Sanjay Prasad expressed strong displeasure over the conduct of the BIT Mesra administration, observing that the institution had shirked its responsibilities.

The Court in particular took note of the absence of a complete boundary wall, which left students vulnerable to external threats.

The Court urged the State authorities to take immediate steps to address the security lapses in State universities.

"The Court directs the Principal Secretary, Higher Technical Education, Govt. of Jharkhand and Director General of Police, Govt. of Jharkhand to prepare a comprehensive SOP for the entire Engineering and Medical Colleges and all the Technical Institutes imparting Graduate Degree and Post-Graduate Degree and Diploma to the students to prepare SOP by keeping medical dispensaries/medical hospital in the College premises near the hostel so that they may be able to get the timely treatment in case of emergency or need of an hour or for any other medical exigency or requirement," the order said.

The Court made the observations while rejecting the bail plea filed by three accused persons.

Emphasising the need for systemic reforms, the Court laid down the following guidelines applicable to all government and private colleges in Jharkhand:

- Mandatory tie-ups with reputed hospitals;

- On-campus medical facilities with male and female doctors;

- Adequate security personnel;

- Functional CCTV coverage, grievance redressal cells;

- Student monitors;

- Online complaint portals;

- Standard operating procedures for student safety and movement.

In the present case, one Raja Paswan, a third-semester Diploma student at BIT Mesra Polytechnic College, allegedly died after a brutal assault by fellow students.

According to his father, Raja had repeatedly complained that certain students had harassed and assaulted him, hurling caste-based slurs such as “Dalit” and “Harijan,” and on some occasions even forcing him to strip naked.

The Bench was informed that on the date of the incident, Raja telephoned his father, imploring him to reach the college urgently, as he was again being subjected to caste-based abuses.

Shortly thereafter, the vice principal and warden of the said institution, informed the father that Raja was vomiting and had lost consciousness.

It was claimed that the college misrepresented the circumstances to the parents, leading them to believe that the student was merely unwell. Acting under this belief, the parents took him home.

On the following day, when Raja’s condition worsened, he was taken to RIMS Hospital, where he succumbed during treatment.

The investigation disclosed that both the assistant warden and the warden of the hostel informed the police that a group of 10–15 individuals had physically assaulted Raja.

The Court at the outset noted that the college administration could not evade responsibility for the violent clash between students and outsiders on campus, which occurred due to serious administrative mismanagement.

The Court also criticized the incomplete police investigation and directed the DGP and Ranchi Police to ensure a fair probe without shielding culprits.

It highlighted the absence of a complete boundary wall, exposing students to external threats and urged state authorities to address security concerns.

The Court emphasised that educational institutions have a constitutional duty under Article 21 to protect the lives of their students.

"Article 21 is the Right to Live is a fundamental right guaranteed under the Constitution of India and this right to live cannot be taken away by the negligence and administrative failure of the concerned College Authorities or State Authorities concerned and there should not be any gap or casual approach," the High Court said.

In this case, the Court noted that the administration’s negligence, including inactive CCTV cameras, failure to control student movement at night, allowing outsiders inside, providing misleading information to the deceased student Raja Paswan’s family and not ensuring timely hospital admission, amounted to gross lapses.

The Court noted that these failures reflected an inhuman approach and hence, it ordered interim compensation of ₹20 lakh to the deceased’s parents, in addition to any future claims.

Further, in relation to the appeal filed by the accused, the Court criticised the undue delay in the investigation by the authorities and proceeded to reject the bail applications of Mausam Kumar Singh, Abhishek Kumar, Sahil Ansari and Irfan Ansari.

Senior Advocates AK Kashyap and BM Tripathi along with advocates Ranjan Kr Singh and Santosh Kumar appeared for the accused.

Advocate General Rajiv Ranjan and Additional Public Prosecutor Rajesh Kumar appeared for the State.

Advocate Srijit Choudhary appeared for BIT Mesra.

[Read Order]