Kerala dental college faculty member’s arrest in student’s death raises larger questions on safeguards against ‘illegal’ arrests
A Kerala court ordered the release of a dental college faculty member, Dr. Kodanda Ram, after finding his arrest for a student's suicide was illegal. The court ruled that police failed to follow Supreme Court mandates regarding the provision of written grounds for arrest.
Why it matters
The case underscores the importance of constitutional safeguards and due process in protecting citizens against arbitrary police actions.
Larger questions surrounding personal liberty and the legal safeguards available to citizens against illegal arrests without a warrant have come into renewed focus in Kerala with the recent “illegal” arrest of Dr. Kodanda Ram, a former faculty member at the Dental College, Anjarakandy, Kannur.
Dr. Ram was arraigned as an accused in the case booked in connection with the alleged suicide of Nithin Raj, a first-year BDS student, on April 10, 2026. Dr. Ram, who went into hiding for 101 days after being slapped with the provisions of the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, was arrested by the police and produced before the Sessions Court, Thalassery, recently.
However, M. Manoj, the Principal Sessions Judge, set the accused at liberty after finding that Mr. Ram was arrested by the police “in complete disregard” of the Constitutional provisions and the safeguards for personal liberty set by the Supreme Court.
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