25-04-2025
HC dismisses bail pleas of students accused in Shahabas murder case
The Kerala High Court on Friday dismissed the bail pleas of five students accused in the murder of Shahabas, class X student of a school in Thamarassery.
Shahabas, a student at M.J. Higher Secondary School, was brutally attacked by fellow students following an altercation during a farewell function at a tuition centre on February 28. He later succumbed to injuries on March 1 at a hospital.
Dismissing the bail pleas of the students who had been put up in a juvenile home, Justice Jobin Sebastian observed that a minor aged 15 years was murdered. The court noted that the Juvenile Justice Act aimed not only to take care of the children in conflict with law but also to address the needs and welfare of all juveniles.
The court, while upholding the dismissal of the bail pleas of the accused by the Juvenile Justice Board and later the Kozhikode Sessions Court, concurred with the views of the board and the court that the release of the petitioners would cause danger to their life.
The board and the sessions court had made the observation in view of information that the school authorities had received many anonymous calls threatening that the petitioners will be done away with if they are out on bail.
