IIT Bombay student suicide case: Court’s speech on Caste Discrimination

On February 12, Solanki, 18, had allegedly jumped off the eighth floor of his hostel building on the IIT Bombay campus in Powai. The Special Investigation Team formed to probe the death claimed that Solanki had allegedly made a communal remark in a conversation with Khatri. The SIT had said that a note was found in Solanki's hostel room on March 3, nearly three weeks after his death, where he had written, "Arman has killed me."

On the basis of these incidents, the SIT arrested Khatri on charges including those under Section 306 and Section 506 of the Indian Penal Code. Khatri was also been booked under relevant sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Act.

"Mere allegations in the suicide note that the applicant is responsible for his death would not be sufficient to come to the conclusion that the applicant has committed the said offence of abetment," the court said.

"So far as the harassment to the deceased on the caste discrimination ground, there is nothing on record to show that the accused was harassing the deceased on the ground of caste discrimination. Except for the one incident of showing the paper cutter to the deceased Darshan by the applicant, there is nothing on record to show that the accused instigated the deceased Darshan to commit suicide," Special Judge A P Kanade said in his order.