BENGALURU: The High Court on Monday ordered a person accused of abetting suicide to undergo psychiatric examination to determine if he was suffering from any mental disorder.
The court told the director of National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) to examine the accused and submit a report within two weeks. Justice L Narayanaswamy passed the order while hearing a bail plea filed by the accused Adarsh G Aradhya. Aradhya sent messages to Swathi, a Pharma student in Mysuru, who committed suicide on April 16, 2015.
Senior counsel Sadashiva Reddy, representing the victim, informed the court that Aradhya was a habitual offender. He said that from one of his victims, Aradhya had demanded `5 lakh by blackmailing her over a video of an intimate moment. The accused was booked by Girinagar police in January 2015. “If he is set free, he will become a pervert. Hence, bail should not be granted,” the counsel argued.
To this, Justice Narayanaswamy said, “This kind of behaviour indicates that the youth is exhibiting criminal tendencies and was becoming a burden to the society. Hence, the NIMHANS director should treat him for two weeks and submit a report on whether he has any mental disorder.”
The matter has been adjourned to September 28.
K M Swathi (22), a third-year student of JSS College of Pharmacy, Mysuru, and a native of Kudligi taluk, was found hanging from a ceiling fan in her hostel room at around 6 am. She left a suicide note saying, ‘no friends of her was able to adjust with her’. Swati’s father Shashi is a Congress Zilla Panchayat member. She had also complained about receiving indecent messages from an unknown mobile number.