GAURAMMA Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners are before this Court calling in question order dtd. 16/5/2023 passed by the Civil Judge and JMFC, Ponnampet, Kodagu in P.C.R.No.414 of 2022 by which the learned Magistrate rejects the 'B' report filed by the Police and takes cognizance of the offence punishable under Ss. 305, 499 r/w 34 of the IPC .

(2.) Facts adumbrated are as follows:- Petitioners 1 to 3 are accused 1 to 3 respectively. The 2nd petitioner is the Director of Karumbaiah Academy for Learning and Sports School (hereinafter referred to as 'the School' for short). The 1st petitioner is its Principal and the 3rd petitioner is the Hostel warden of the School. The 2nd respondent is the complainant, father of a ward by name Nihal Bidappa, boy aged 15 years. Nihal Bidappa was a student of the school in 9th grade at the relevant point in time. It is the averment in the petition that Nihal Bidappa was a mischievous child and, therefore, had to be counseled. Three dates of counseling are averred in the petition viz., 9/12/2021, 9/2/2022 and 9/8/2022 and on the last date the child was counseled along with his mother. No documents to that effect are produced. It appears that on 25/8/2022 a random check was done by the class teacher during which it was discovered that the boy was carrying alcohol in his bag in a bottle of mineral water. After which, the further averment is, the boy gives a written apology for the said act. The school did not stop at that but sends the child away directing him not to attend the school for 21 days as a measure of punishment. Since exams were ensuing, the parents of the boy appeared to have gone to the school and pleaded to take the son back to the school or else it would jeopardize his career. The school appears to have been adamant. But, the narration is that the school acceded to the request of the boy to write the exam from the house through a link that would be sent to the boy. The boy sits in front of the computer from 10-10 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. waiting for the link, but the link does not appear as it was not sent. The time of the exam was over; the time of answer paper collection was also over. The boy gets into frustration up to 12.10 p.m. and committed suicide between 12.30 p.m. and 1.00 p.m.

(3.) After the said incident, a complaint comes to be registered before the jurisdictional Police on which the Police endorse that it was an unnatural death and rendered a UDR report. After which, several communications galore between the school and the parents of the boy who had committed suicide and finding no solution, the parents filed a private complaint on 28/12/2022 alleging that the petitioners herein were responsible for the death of the boy as they had instigated commission suicide of the boy. The learned Magistrate, in terms of his order dtd. 29/12/2022, refers the matter for investigation under Sec. 156(3) of the CrPC. The reference then becomes a crime in Crime No.125 of 2022 for offences punishable under Ss. 305, 499 & 34 of the IPC and also for offence punishable under Sec. 17 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 ('RTE Act' for short).