Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation

2025 Supreme(Jhk) 1728

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JHARKHAND AT RANCHI
SANJAY PRASAD, J.
Mausam Kumar Singh, S/o. Vijay Kumar Singh - Appellant
Versus
The State of Jharkhand and Anr. – Respondents
Cr. Appeal (SJ) No. 149 of 2025 with Cr. Appeal (SJ) No. 198 of 2025 with Cr. Appeal (SJ) No. 269 of 2025 with Cr. Appeal (SJ) No. 364 of 2025
Decided On : 12-08-2025

Advocates Appeared:
For the Appellant :Mr. A.K. Kashyap, Sr. Advocate, Mr. B.M. Tripathi, Sr. Advocate, Mr. Ranjan Kr. Singh. Advocate, Mr. Santosh Kumar, Advocate
For the State :Mr. Rajiv Ranjan, Advocate General, Mr. Rajesh Kumar, APP
For the B.I.T. MESRA :Mr. Srijit Choudhary, Advocate

Negligence of educational institutions can lead to liability for harm caused to students; failure to provide adequate safety measures may result in compensatory awards for victims' families.

Headnote:(A) Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 2016 - Sections 3(1)(r)s - Assault and murder of student due to caste-based discrimination leading to death after later hospitalization. The FIR was lodged after a delay of 3 days without proper explanation. Appellants argued against their involvement, citing lack of evidence and procedural lapses in the investigation. (Paras 1-4, 6-9, 12, 16, 30, 35, 74, 76-89)

(B) Negligence by College Authorities - The College was criticized for failing to provide adequate medical care and misinforming the family of the deceased about the cause of his condition post-assault. The authorities are held responsible for neglecting their duties to protect students. (Paras 39, 74, 82, 90)

(C) Compensation Order - Court ordered the College to pay interim compensation of Rs.20,00,000/- to the family of the deceased for their negligence. (Paras 82-84).

Table of Content
1. factual background of the case including incident details. (Para 1 , 2 , 3)
2. arguments made by the defendants regarding innocence and procedural failures. (Para 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9)
3. court's observations related to evidence, procedural issues, and testimonies. (Para 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72)
4. legal principles regarding vicarious liability and negligence of the college administration. (Para 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78)
5. final conclusions on the case and directions for compensation and future sop. (Para 79 , 80 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 , 86 , 87 , 88 , 89 , 90 , 91)

JUDGMENT :

SANJAY PRASAD, J.

All the Criminal Appeals i.e. Cr. Appeal (SJ) No.149 of 2025, Cr. Appeal (SJ) No.198 of 2025, Cr. Appeal (SJ) No.269 of 2025 and Cr. Appeal (SJ) No.364 of 2025 have been heard together and are being disposed of together as they arise by the common F.I.R. dated 17.11.2024 instituted under section 103/3(5) of BNS , 2023 and section 3(1)(r)s) of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act by the informant namely Chandan Paswan on account of assault of his son Raja Paswan in the campus of B.I.T MESRA, Ranchi and later on the deceased succumbed to his injuries.

2. Cr. Appeal (S.J) No.149 of 2025 has been filed on behalf the appellant- Mausam Kumar Singh who is a student of 3rd Semester of B.I.T. MESRA Polytechnic College, Ranchi.

Cr. Appeal (S.J) No.364 of 2025 has been filed on behalf of the appellant-Abhishek Kumar who is also a student of 3rd Semester of Diploma in E.C Branch at B.I.T MESRA, Ranchi.

Cr. Appeal (S.J) No.198 of 2025 has been filed on behalf of the appellant-Sahil Ansari who is said to be the pass-out student of B.I.T MESRA and presently pursuing his Mechanical Engineering course in Cambridge Institute of Technology whereas Cr. Appeal (S.J) No.269 of 2025 has been filed on behalf of the appellant-Irfan Ansari.

3. The prosecution case, in brief, is that on 17.11.2024 the informant Chandan Paswan had submitted written application before the Officer In-charge of B.I.T MESRA, O.P, Ranchi for instituting a case of murder against some unknown students and College Administration of BIT MESRA by stating therein that on 14.11.2024 at around 8.00 p.m. in the night his son Raja Paswan, who was the student of 3rd Semester of B.I.T MESRA, Polytechnic College had asked him on telephone to arrive immediately there because some students are abusing him in the name of Dalit and Harijan. He also stated that after some time even he had been informed by the Vice-Principal Warden Prabhat Ranjan Mahto of B.I.T MESRA that his son (i.e. Raja Paswan) is doing vomiting and is becoming unconscious and then the informant along with his wife Gayatri Devi arrived at B.I.T Hostel by the Auto Rickshaw and saw that his son (i.e. Raja Paswan) is becoming unconscious and is vomiting. Thereafter they brought him to their house in the night and on the next day they took him to RIMS Hospital and where in course of treatment his son died. He also stated that there are signs of assault by Lathi, Danda and Belt in the whole body of his son.

He also alleged that his deceased son always used to inform him that the students of B.I.T MESRA used to abuse him in the name of Dalit/Harijan and assault him by making him naked and hence strict actions may be taken against the concerned accused persons.

4. Heard Sri A.K. Kashyap, learned Senior Counsel appearing in Cr. Appeal (S.J) No.149 of 2025, Sri B.M. Tripathi, learned Senior Counsel in Cr. Appeal (S.J) No.198 of 2025 and Cr. Appeal (S.J) No.269 of 2025 and Sri Ranjan Kumar Singh, learned counsel in Cr. Appeal (S.J) No.364 of 2025, Mr. Rajesh Kumar, learned APP for the State and Mr. Srijit Choudha