Kerala HC initiates suo motu contempt of court case over hartal called by Dalit organizations

The Kerala High Court initiated a suo motu contempt of court case against the organisers who called a hartal in the state on Tuesday in connection with the death of BDS student Nithin Raj. The court’s action follows reports of violence, traffic disruptions, and the blocking of emergency services during the protest

A Division Bench comprising Justice Basant Balaji and Justice P. Krishna Kumar on Tuesday directed the DGP (Law and Order) to submit a report by the same day evening on the alleged violent incidents and traffic hold-ups in different districts. The court noted that “flash hartals” – those called without seven days’ public notice-have been deemed illegal and unconstitutional in previous judgments. It further noted that those who called for the hartal had committed contempt of court. With this, those who called for the hartal will also face contempt of court proceedings. The court also directed the Registry to send notices to those who called for the hartal.

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The hartal was called by Dalit and tribal organizations, including the Justice for Nithin Raj Action Council, in protest against the death of Kannur,Anjarakandy dental college student R L. Nithin Raj. These organizations have called for the hartal demanding a murder investigation, arrest of the accused faculty members, Rs.10 crore compensation to Nithin Raj’s family, and cancellation of the college’s accreditation.

First-year BDS student Nithin Raj is believed to have died by suicide after facing alleged caste-based harassment from the faculty at Kannur, Anjarakandy Dental College. Nithin Raj was found critically injured after allegedly jumping from a building near the college on April 10. He succumbed to his injuries later the same day.

Following Nithn Raj’s death, Kerala police registered a case against the head of the dental anatomy department at the Kannur Dental College, Dr MK Ram and an associate professor, KT Sangeetha Nambiar. The hartal has affected normal life in many places in the state , as hartal supporters blocked the movement of vehicles. The protesters paralyzed transportation by blocking roads and halting both KSRTC and private buses in Thiruvananthapuram, Kannur and Pathanamthitta districts and other places, leaving scores of commuters stranded .

In Thiruvananthapuram, the protesters blocked buses and other vehicles at Thampanoor, Kaniyapuram and Neduangad .The police arrested and removed those who blocked the KSRTC bus in Neyyattinkara. Roadblocks caused by protesters delayed hospital-bound patients and students heading to the Vellore Institute of Technology Engineering Entrance Examination .The police forcibly removed the protesters who blocked the vehicles in Adoor

In Kannur, the police removed protesters who attempted to block vehicles. The hartal had limited impact in Kasaragod district, with normal life remaining largely unaffected in most places, though sporadic attempts were made by hartal supporters to block vehicles in some hilly and rural pockets.