Disciplinary proceedings must adhere to principles of natural justice, including providing specific allegations and a fair opportunity to defend, failing which the proceedings are unsustainable.

JUDGMENT

[WP(C) Nos.22835/2024, 21140/2024, 22028/2024, 25806/2024, 28606/2024, 29685/2024, 30162/2024, 33231/2024]

.....

In all these writ petitions, the challenge is made against an order issued by the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (hereinafter referred to as the ‘University’), by which, 19 students of the University were proceeded against as part of disciplinary proceedings and imposed with the penalty of expulsion from the college and debarring them from securing admission in any other college for a period of three years. (For the sake of convenience, the documents and respondents are hereinafter referred to as per the sequence shown in WP(C) No.22835 of 2024, unless otherwise specifically mentioned)

2. The facts that led to the filing of these writ petitions are as follows: All the petitioners are students of Bachelor of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry (B.V.Sc & A.H) under the University. The petitioners include students studying from 2^nd year to the final year of the course. The subject matter of this writ petition is an unfortunate incident that occurred in the college hostel on 18.02.2024, in which one student of the second year, by the name Sidharathan, was found dead by hanging in the bathroom of the hostel. In connection with the incident, Crime No.77/2024 was registered by the Vythiri Police Station, as per Ext P1, under section 174 of the Cr.P.C. Immediately thereupon, the Station House Officer of the said police station issued a letter to the University to enquire whether the deceased was subjected to any ragging by the students. The National Anti Ragging Cell of the University Grants Commission (UGC) also forwarded complaints in this regard received by them, to the University. Accordingly, a meeting of Anti Ragging Committee (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Committee’), the 5^th respondent, which is a body created under Regulation 6.3 of the UGC Regulations on Curbing the Menace of Ragging in Higher Educational Institutions, 2009, (hereinafter referred to as ‘Regulations’), of the 1^st respondent University, was convened on 22.02.2024.

3. Based on the decision taken by the said Committee, the Dean of the College took a decision as per Ext P2, to suspend some of the petitioners (12 students) from the college and the hostel, pending enquiry. In the meantime, the petitioners were implicated as accused in the crime referred to above by the police, wherein the offences under section 120B, 341, 323, 324, 342, 355, 306 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 4 read with section 3 of the Kerala Prohibition of Ragging Act, 1998, were incorporated during the course of the investigation. By that time, the issue drew the media attention, and hence the petitioners kept themselves away from the public view for some time. Eventually, all the petitioners were arrested by the police on various dates from the last week of February to the first week of March 2024. They were later released on bail as per Ext P3 order passed by this court on 31.05.2024.

4. In the meanwhile, the Anti Ragging Squad (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Squad’), which is also a fact-finding authority constituted under Regulation 6.3 of the UGC Regulations, conducted an enquiry, and submitted an interim report before the Committee, holding some students guilty of assaulting the deceased Sidharthan by keeping him detained in the hostel for two days from 16.02.2024 and inflicting injuries on his body, accusing the said Sidharthan that he misbehaved with a girl. These assaults and ill-treatment by the students allegedly compelled the said Sidharthan to commit suicide. It is stated that, before submitting the said interim report, the Squad recorded the statements of 97 witnesses, and as part of the said enquiry, the petitioners and other students were issued with notices to attend the enquiry, which was conducted on 26^th to 28^th of February, 2024. Exhibit P10 is the said interim report and acting upon the said report, the Committee took a