Bail Granted to Students in SC/ST Act Case Amid Institutional Negligence and Multi-Stage Assault Findings

In brief

The question

1. Whether the appellants are entitled to regular bail considering their duration of custody, student status, and the nature of the specific allegations against them.

The court held

The High Court allowed both appeals, setting aside the lower court's orders and granting bail to the appellants.

It also directed

The appellants were directed to be released on a bail bond of Rs. 15,000 each with specific conditions: they must not indulge in similar crimes, must not leave Jharkhand without permission, must surrender passports, and must provide an undertaking to the trial court; additionally, the Court directed the State to file a compliance report regarding the enactment of statutes/SOPs for student health and safety by July 2026.

01Facts

The appellants, students at B.I.T. MESRA, Ranchi, were accused of murder and atrocities under Section 103/3(5) of the BNS, 2023, and Section 3(1)(r)(s) of the SC/ST Act.

¶ 2

On 14.11.2024, an altercation occurred during a college party where the appellants allegedly assaulted Raja Paswan (the deceased) with fists and belts inside the campus.

¶ 6, 15

Subsequently, the deceased scaled the boundary wall and was further brutally assaulted by a mob of local residents and a former student.

¶ 18, 22

The college administration reportedly misled the parents by claiming the deceased was unconscious due to alcohol consumption rather than physical trauma.

¶ 9, 16, 23

The deceased succumbed to injuries at RIMS Hospital on 15.11.2024. Previous bail applications were rejected in 2025; the current appeals challenge the rejection orders dated 28.01.2026 and 21.02.2026.

¶ 4, 12

02Issues

i.1. Whether the appellants are entitled to regular bail considering their duration of custody, student status, and the nature of the specific allegations against them.

¶ 12-45

ii.2. Whether the negligence and concealment of facts by the college administration impacted the deceased’s chances of survival and the overall gravity of the case.

¶ 23, 30

03Law Applied

Principles of bail under the Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Section 103 BNS (Murder) as reflected in the Post-mortem report, which attributed death to head injuries and asphyxia.

¶ 28

Article 21 of the Constitution concerning the right to life and safety in educational institutions.

¶ 36

'Standard Operating Procedure' (SOP) for student safety mandated by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in SLP (Crl) No. 6378 of 2024 regarding mental health and suicide prevention.

¶ 39

Provisions in the judgment · 2 · Linked ones open on LawLens

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 Section 103

Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 Section 3

04Reasoning

The Court observed that while the appellants were involved in the "first part" of the assault (altercation over a girl student), the "second part" involved a separate mob outside the campus that contributed significantly to the fatal injuries.

¶ 31, 32, 41

The Court found that the BIT MESRA administration displayed gross negligence by misleading the parents about the cause of unconciousness (attributing it to alcohol) and failing to provide immediate specialized medical care, which might have saved the deceased's life.

¶ 23, 30

The Court noted that a compensation of Rs. 20 Lakh had been paid to the victim's father by the institution.

¶ 33, 34

Considering that the appellants had been in custody for approximately 18 months, were students, and that only 4 out of 19 witnesses had been examined, the Court determined that further incarceration "at this stage" was not warranted.

¶ 43-45