Amit Kumar & Ors. vs. Union Of India & Ors.

* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
Reserved on : 21.11.2023
% Pronounced on : 30.01.2024

+ W.P.(CRL) 2945/2023
AMIT KUMAR & ORS. ..... Petitioners
Through: Mehmood Pracha, Mr. Jatin Bhatt and
Mr.Harshit S. Gahlot, Advocates.

versus

UNION OF INDIA & ORS. ..... Respondents
Through: Mr. Himanshu Pathak, Mr. Sahaj
Garg and Samman Kr. Singh,
Advocates for R-1/UOI.
Mr. Ripu Daman Bhardwaj, SPP for
CBI.
Ms. Rupali Bandhopadhya, ASC with
Mr. Abhijeet Kumar, Adv.
Insp. Shambhu Nath and SI
Dharmendra, P.S.Kishangarh
CORAM:
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAJNISH BHATNAGAR
JUDGMENT

RAJNISH BHATNAGAR, J.
1. The present petition under Article 226 and 227 of the Constitution of
India has been filed by the petitioners with the following prayers:-
"a) to issue an appropriate writ, order or direction including a writ in
the nature of mandamus, thereby directing the police authorities or
Respondent No. 6 to register appropriate FIRs in the cases involving
the deaths of the sons of Petitioner No. 2 and Petitioner No. 3; and
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b) to issue an appropriate writ, order or direction including a writ in
the nature of mandamus, thereby directing the investigation of the
cases to be done by Respondent No. 6; and
c) to issue an appropriate writ, order or direction including a writ in
the nature of mandamus, thereby directing the Respondent No. 6 to
conduct a thorough, impartial investigation into the caste based
atrocities being committed in the premises of Respondent No. 5; and
d) monitor the investigation of the case; and
e) direct an independent inquiry into case based atrocities being
committed in the premises of Respondent No. 5; and
f) to issue an appropriate writ, order or direction including a writ in
the nature of mandamus, thereby commanding the Respondents to
ensure strict compliance and implementation of provisions of
SC/ST(POA)Act,1989 and rules and regulations under the
SC/ST(POA) Rules 1995.
g) pass any other or further orders, as this Hon'b1e Court may deem
fit and proper in the circumstances of the present case.”

2. In brief the facts of the case are that Complaints dated 26.07.2023 and
09.09.2023 were filed by the petitioners who are the parents of two
deceased students of B.Tech (Mathematics and Computing) at Indian
Institute of Technology, Delhi, wherein, it was alleged that one student,
namely, Ayush Ashna was found dead on 08.07.2023 at his Hostel Room
No. WH-02, Seventh Floor, Udaygiri Hostel, IIT, New Delhi and another
student, namely, Anil Kumar was found dead on 01.09.2023 in his
Hostel Room No. EA-18, Ground Floor,Vidhyachal Hostel, IIT, New
Delhi. It is alleged in the complaints that they were murdered with the
conspiracy of IIT Faculty members to hide the real facts and both the
students have been falsely shown to have committed suicide. It is further
alleged in the complaints that both the students belonged to Scheduled
Castes and they had informed their parents several times regarding caste
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discrimination by the faculty/staff of IIT, Delhi and therefore, the
petitioners alleged that the faculty members are trying to save the real
accused persons and the police officials are also not investigating the
matter in a proper manner. In view of the above said complaints, an
enquiry was conducted in both the cases.
3. As per the Status Report filed by the Ld. ASC, postmortem of the
deceased Ayush Ashna was conducted vide PM No. 1500/23, wherein the
cause of death was held to be “asphyxia as a result of hanging due to
ligature” . During the course of enquiry, statements of father, brother, other
relatives and friends of the deceased were recorded in which it was found
that the deceased had failed in some of the subjects in the prior semester
exams due to which he was under depression. They further denied any foul
play or any suspicion regarding the death of deceased. Father of the
deceased, namely, Ramesh Kumar had later given a written complaint in the
police station, in which he alleged that his son Ayush Ashna was facing
caste based discrimination by his hostel mates and other faculty members
during the beginning of his academic year 2019-2020 and he also suspected
in the complaint that his son could not have taken such steps and someone
might have killed his son with the connivance of faculty members.
Therefore, to clarify the facts, the grade reports of Ayush Ashna were
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collected from IIT and it was found that during the 2 semester of year
2022-23, he had failed in some of the subjects and got lower grades i.e.,
Grade F which stands for Very Poor in 5 out of 7 subjects. During further
enquiry, several other students of IIT, Delhi who belonged to Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes were also examined, wherein none of them
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reported any caste-based discrimination against any of them.

4. In the case of Anil Kumar, postmortem of the deceased was
conducted vide PM No. 2048/23 wherein the cause of death was held to be
“asphyxia consequent to ante-mortem compression of neck by ligature”.
During the course of enquiry, statements of the brother, mother, other
relatives and friends of the deceased were recorded who stated that due to
scoring less marks in exams, deceased was under stress. They further denied
any foul play or any suspicion regarding the death of deceased. Brother of
the deceased, namely, Amit Kumar had later given a written complaint in
the police station, in which he alleged that Anil Kumar was facing caste-
based discrimination by his teachers and other faculty members. He also
suspected in the complaint that his brother could not have taken such steps
and someone might have killed him with the connivance of faculty members
and the faculty members are also trying to save the real accused persons. He
further alleged in his complaint that there was some kind of bleeding from
the ears of the dead body and blood stains were scattered all over the room
and thus, the same does not appear to be an incident of suicide.

5. Accordingly, further enquiry was conducted in the case wherein it
was found that Anil Kumar had taken admission in IIT Delhi in 2019 vide
Entry No. 2019 MT10674 in B.Tech (Mathematics and Computing) and he
was allotted Room No. SD-11, Vidhyachal Hostel at the time of admission.
During the semester period of 2020-21 and 2022-23, he got low grades in
some of the subjects. Deceased Anil Kumar extended his stay at the hostel
for the preparation of remaining subjects and completing the course and the
same was granted by the relevant department immediately. Subsequently, he
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was allotted Room No. EA-18, Vidhyachal Hostel. The deceased could not
clear some subjects and was residing in hostel on further six months
extension. As per the rules, his hostel was to be vacated in June but as he
could not qualify some subjects, he was given extension for six months to
clear the exams.

6. On further verification of facts, it was revealed that the deceased
passed all the subjects in I year but he later failed in two subjects out of
rd th
seven subjects in 3 semester. Thereafter, in 4 semester he took only one
subject and failed in the same, in the following year (2021-22) he failed to
th
pass any subject, in 7 semester he failed in one subject out of six subjects
th
and finally in 8 semester he failed in two subjects out of six subjects and
therefore, he was given an extension to clear all the subjects. Furthermore,
Hostel allotment letters were also analyzed and it was found that there was
no column revealing the category of the students as to whether she/he
belongs to SC/ST/General category in any of the form and only entry
number was mentioned in all the forms and thus, no evidence of caste-based
discrimination against the deceased was found.

7. I have heard the Ld. Counsel for the petitioners, Ld. ASC for the
State, perused the Status Report filed by the Ld. ASC and also, perused the
records of this case.

8. Learned counsel for the petitioners submitted that the deceased
students, Ayush Ashna and Anil Kumar were bright students with good
academic career who had cracked the prestigious JEE-Advanced and got
admission in Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, but they faced caste
based discrimination at the hands of some of the faculty members of IIT,
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Delhi. He further submitted that the police officials are not registering FIRs
in the matters due to their indifferent and callous attitude, despite the serious
allegations made by the family members of the deceased students of murder
due to caste related atrocities and discrimination committed upon the
deceased in the premises of IIT, Delhi. He further submitted that the police
officials are acting in connivance with the administration of IIT Delhi, and
have deliberately followed delaying tactics so that all the evidences are
systematically destroyed. He further submitted that the provisions under
Section 4(2)(b) of the SC/ST(POA)Act,1989 also provides for registration a
First Information Report under the Act and other relevant provisions and
thus, the police officials have wilfully neglected their duties required to be
performed by them under the Act.
9. Ld. counsel for the petitioners, in support of his contentions, has
placed reliance on the following judgments:
 Lalita Kumari vs. State of UP [AIR 2012 SC 1515]
 National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights and Ors vs. Union of
India and Ors. [AIR 2017 SC 132]
10. On the other hand, Ld. ASC for the State submitted that no doubt the
deceased students were bright and young, however, there is nothing to show
that they faced caste based discrimination in the IIT Campus, in fact, as per
the detailed enquiry conducted by the officials it is revealed that deceased
Ayush Ashna was failing in some of the subjects and had got lower grades
i.e., Grade F(Very Poor) in 5 out of 7 subjects, and deceased Anil Kumar
rd th
was also failing in two subjects out of seven subjects in 3 semester, in 4
semester he took only one subject and failed in the same, in the following
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th
year he failed to pass any subject, in 7 semester he failed in one subject out
th
of six subjects and in 8 semester he failed in two subjects out of six
subjects. She further submitted that both the deceased were failing in
multiple subjects and it is most likely that they committed suicide by
hanging on account of the fact that they were not able to withstand the
pressure to perform better. She further submitted that the apprehensions of
the parents of the deceased were duly considered and in this regard a
thorough enquiry was conducted wherein statements of family and friends of
the deceased were recorded and several other students of IIT, Delhi who
belonged to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes were also examined,
wherein not even a single thing cropped up which suggested that the
deceased were murdered in the campus and as a matter of fact, none of them
had ever reported of any caste-based discrimination by faculty members or
anybody else. She further submitted that no complaint was ever given by
either of the deceased to the police or to the SC/ST Cell of IIT Delhi
regarding any caste-based discrimination and moreover, except the Dean of
Academics, no one knows the category of students and they all are treated
equally in the campus by all the staff members. Lastly, she submitted that a
detailed enquiry was conducted, all relevant materials have been collected
and subject to rigorous scrutiny, in the absence of any specific allegation or
even an iota of evidence to suggest that the present case is not the one where
two students under pressure committed suicide by hanging, there are no
grounds for either registration of FIR or directing CBI to investigate the
matter in the present case and the same deserves to be dismissed.
11. As far as the judgments relied upon by counsel for the petitioners that
registration of FIR is mandatory under Section 154 of the Cr.P.C if the
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information discloses commission of a cognizable offence, there is no
dispute with regard to the proposition of law laid down in the said
judgments, however, with due regard the same are not applicable to the facts
of the present case as in the case at hand, a thorough and detailed enquiry
has been conducted by the officials wherein it was borne out that both the
deceased were failing in multiple subjects and as per the statements of their
family and friends, both of them were under pressure to perform better.
Moreover, nothing has come up during the enquiry to suggest that the
deceased students faced any kind of caste based discrimination by the
faculty members or staff in IIT, Delhi. Though this Court is very much
aware of the plight of the grieving parents of two young students who took
extreme steps and the agony undergone by them, however, this Court cannot
issue a mandamus on the basis of mere sentiment or sympathy.
12. In State of West Bengal & Ors. Vs. Committee for Protection of
Democratic Rights, West Bengal & Ors. [(2010) 3 SCC 571] , the Hon’ble
Supreme Court of India has observed and held as follows:-
“Before parting with the case, we deem it necessary to emphasise that
despite wide powers conferred by Articles 32 and 226 of the
Constitution, while passing any order, the Courts must bear in mind
certain self-imposed limitations on the exercise of these Constitutional
powers. The very plenitude of the power under the said Articles
requires great caution in its exercise. In so far as the question of
issuing a direction to the CBI to conduct investigation in a case is
concerned, although no inflexible guidelines can be laid down to
decide whether or not such power should be exercised but time and
again it has been reiterated that such an order is not to be passed as a
matter of routine or merely because a party has levelled some
allegations against the local police. This extra-ordinary power must
be exercised sparingly, cautiously and in exceptional situations where
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13. In Mithilesh Kumar Singh vs. State of Rajasthan & Ors. [(2015) 9
SCC 795] , the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India has observed and held as
follows:-
“Even so the availability of power and its exercise are two distinct
matters. This Court does not direct transfer of investigation just for
the asking nor is transfer directed only to satisfy the ego or vindicate
the prestige of a party interested in such investigation. The decision
whether transfer should or should not be ordered rests on the Court’s
satisfaction whether the facts and circumstances of a given case
demand such an order. No hard and fast rule has been or can possibly
be prescribed for universal application to all cases. Each case will
obviously depend upon its own facts. What is important is that the
Court while exercising its jurisdiction to direct transfer remains
sensitive to the principle that transfers are not ordered just because a
party seeks to lead the investigator to a given conclusion. It is only
when there is a reasonable apprehension about justice becoming a
victim because of shabby or partisan investigation that the Court may
step in and exercise its extra ordinary powers. The sensibility of the
victims of the crime or their next of kin is not wholly irrelevant in such
situations. After all transfer of investigation to an outside agency does
not imply that the transferee agency will necessarily much less falsely
implicate anyone in the commission of the crime. That is particularly
so when transfer is ordered to an outside agency perceived to be
independent of influences, pressures and pulls that are common place
when State police investigates matters of some significance. The
confidence of the party seeking transfer in the outside agency in such
cases itself rests on the independence of that agency from such or
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14. Perusal of the Status Report filed by the Ld. ASC for the State shows
that a thorough and detailed enquiry was conducted into both the cases and it
was found that no complaint was ever given by any of the deceased students
to the police, SC/ST Cell of IIT Delhi or to any of their friends in Campus
regarding any caste-based discrimination being faced by them. Moreover,
statements of family and friends of the deceased were recorded and several
other students of IIT, Delhi who belonged to Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes were also examined and none of them reported any caste-
based discrimination taking place in the IIT Campus, Delhi. The allegations
levelled by the petitioners therefore, could not be corroborated and nothing
came on record to substantiate the same.
15. Undoubtedly, the academic career of two brilliant and young students
came to an end under devastating circumstances and one cannot even fathom
the challenges and emotions which the parents of the deceased must be
facing every day. This Court can understand the sentiments of the parents of
the deceased and deeply discourages the growing trend of pressurising
young minds to perform the best in every aspect of life leading them to take
unfortunate steps. It is high time that the faculty as well as other staff
members of Indian Institute of Technology make conscious efforts and take
endeavours to counsel, encourage, motivate and invigorate the students. It is
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of utmost priority to make the young minds understand that though scoring
good marks and performing your best is important but it is not the most
important thing in life and one can certainly give his/her best without
succumbing to the pressures or stress of performing better. The most
significant way of instilling this into young minds who face challenges
everyday in the professional and competitive environment of colleges is by
teaching them in the very same campus where they spend years of their
students lives, the values of prioritizing their health, be it physical or mental,
which will also give them the confidence to face every challenge in life.
16. Taking into consideration the totality of facts and circumstances of
this case, this Court is of the view that a mandamus cannot be issued in a
routine manner merely on the basis of sympathy or sentiments, accordingly,
the present petition along with pending applications, if any is dismissed
being devoid of any merits.


RAJNISH BHATNAGAR, J

JANUARY 30, 2024
p
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