The Delhi High Court on Wednesday questioned Amity Law School for “belated” filing of a plea, urging it not to give any finding on allegations of mental torture and harassment of a student who allegedly committed suicide in August last year.
The court also questioned the police on the status of the investigation. It asked the police why they had not lodged an FIR in the matter for one year when a cognisable offence had taken place and directed them to file a detailed status report on the probe by October 17.
Questioning the timing of the filing of the plea, a Bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Nazmi Waziri said: “Applications have been filed at a belated stage as the matter was listed for final hearing. There should not be any application at this stage. We heard this case four times earlier. Why are you filing the pleas now?”
‘Mental torture’
The separate applications, filed by Amity Law School and a senior professor, said any observation by the court with regard to the allegations of mental torture and harassment would embarrass them, prejudice the ongoing probe and amount to indirect interference with it, which is impermissible in law. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the professor, said they were afraid that if the court records any finding on the basis of the allegations, it would prejudice them. Senior advocate Akhil Sibal, who appeared for the law school, also urged the court not to determine the disputed questions as the matter has been transferred to the crime branch of Delhi Police which have also lodged an FIR.
The court was hearing a plea initiated by the Supreme Court in September last year on the alleged suicide by the student. The matter was transferred to the Delhi High Court in March. Sushant Rohilla, a third-year law student, had committed suicide here on August 10, 2016, after the university allegedly barred him from sitting for the semester exams due to lack of attendance.
