CHENNAI: Expressing concern over the recurring clashes among different groups of students of Chennai city colleges that led to the death of a student recently, the Madras High Court on Thursday stated that the Tamil Nadu government has to take action to end the clashes.
Justice AD Jagadish Chandira made this statement while hearing the anticipatory bail plea filed by the students who were arrested in connection with the murder of a student of Presidency College.
Referring to the killing of A Sundar, a student of the Presidency College, the court pointed out that every year such clashes take place, but no action was taken from the concerned authorities. So far, the students had indulged in assaulting one another but now they have committed a murder.
The court also directed the police to submit the details of cases registered by the local police and the Railway police in the last ten years regarding student clashes, with information on the status of such cases as to how many cases ended in conviction and compromise.
Sundar was assaulted by a group of students belonging to the Pachiayappa’s College on October 4 while he was waiting to board a train at the Central Railway Station. He succumbed to injuries five days later at the Rajiv Gandhi government general hospital here in Chennai. The Periamet police registered a case under section 302 of IPC for murder and arrested seven students including a juvenile.
Among them, S Eswar, Yuvaraj, Chandru and Eswaran filed applications for enlarging them on bail.
When the defence council stated that the family conditions of the accused are very poor as the parents are daily wage labourers, Justice Jagadish Chandira asked whether they realised the agony of the parents of the deceased student as they had lost him forever.
He also noted that parents of most of the students embroiled in the clashes are daily wage labourers like house maids or farm workers.
Further, the judge flagged the issue of students celebrating Bus Day and Train Day and stated that fortunately there was no flight service for them to reach the institutions.
Additional Public Prosecutor Arul Selvam submitted that some of the accused students have an attendance percentage of not even 1%.
The judge suggested constituting a committee with the stakeholders to resolve the issue forever.