The Madras High Court recently granted bail to four college students accused of murder, with the condition that they serve at the trauma ward of a local government hospital as part of their release.
The court also ordered the accused to submit a handwritten note detailing their experiences at the hospital. The order was passed by Justice A.D. Jagadish Chandira on December 2. The students—Chandru, Eswar, Yuvaraj, and Eswaran—are all pursuing undergraduate degrees at Pachayappa's College in Chennai.
Additionally, the court instructed each of the accused to execute a bond of ₹15,000.
Two of the accused were ordered to serve at the trauma ward of Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in Chennai every day from 10 am to 2 pm until December 19 this year. The remaining two accused were directed to serve at the trauma ward of Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital in Chennai for the same hours and period.
“The petitioners shall appear before this Court on 20.12.2024 along with Reports of the RMO concerned in this regard; each petitioner shall, in his own handwriting, submit before this Court a write-up of his experience in the trauma ward during the above period,” the High Court said.
The accused were arrested by the police on October 4 on charges of attempt to murder after allegedly attacking a student from Presidency College in Chennai. The victim later died from his injuries at a hospital, leading the police to revise the charges to murder. While the accused claimed they were falsely implicated, the police stated the assault stemmed from a rivalry between student groups.
The High Court noted the prosecution’s submissions and expressed concern over the rising incidents of violence between student groups. In a previous hearing, the Court had suo motu involved the Secretary of the State Higher Education department and the principals of the two colleges attended by the accused and the victim. The Students Federation of India (SFI) and an NGO, Sattha Panchayat Iyakkam, also filed intervening petitions, requesting the Court's permission to present proposals aimed at curbing such violent incidents.
The High Court will continue hearing the matter on December 20.
Advocates P Muthamizhselvakumar, S Mohan Raj and D Dhanasekar appeared for the accused students.
Government Advocate Leonard Arul Joseph Selvam appeared for the State.
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