Accused in teacher's suicide denied bail

The Madras High Court on Wednesday denied bail to two students of a polytechnic college whose teacher committed suicide after they attacked him brutally, observing that granting the relief would send wrong signals to the teaching community.

“Giving them bail will send wrong signals to the teaching community which is already seething under the pain of academic pressures,” Justice P M Prakash of the Madurai bench of the High Court said, rejecting the bail pleas of the two students.

He said the teaching community would feel terribly let down if courts treat such delinquencies with kid gloves.

The judge said the petitioners had been arrested only on April 17 and rejected the plea that they were only students.

The two petitioners, students of the college in Tirunelveli, had picked up a quarrel with Prof Subramaiam after he sent them out following a quarrel when they came late for an examination on April 16 last. Later, the duo, along with four of their friends, allegedly assaulted him and also the wife of a college driver, who intervened in the quarrel.