‘Deceased Was Not Assaulted at Railway Tracks but Elsewhere’: SC On Mysterious Death Of NLU-Jodhpur Student [READ JUDGMENT]

On Wednesday (September 16, 2020), Supreme Court accused Rajasthan Police of ‘hasty action’ of filing a closure report in the investigation of an unusual death of a third-year law student of National Law University Jodhpur, Vikrant Nagaich. The Supreme Court ordered the closure report and directed an investigation into the case by a new team and gave a deadline of two months for the completion.

Supreme Court made certain observations regarding the student’s death which happened in 2017, when the mother of the deceased student, Neetu Kumar Nagaich filed a writ petition. The court observed that;

•  It was found that the deceased left the University premises along with some of his friends on the evening of August 13, 2017, at about 7:40 PM.

•  On the next morning around 9 AM, his dead body was found in the railway tracks which are behind the college campus.

Advocate Sunil Fernandes who is the Counsel for the petitioner mentioned that, as per the entry register of the hostel, the deceased went back to the hostel on the night of August 13, 2017. Even if he by chance, left the hostel premises again in the night, there should be some visuals in the CCTV footage at the gate. 

Supreme Court noted that there are nine serious injuries in his body and no blood was found in the railway tracks where his body was found but there was blood on his clothes. According to Bench of Justices RF Nariman, Navin Sinha, and Indira Banerjee's observation in the judgment, “it does not leave much to the imagination that the disease was not assaulted as the railway track but elsewhere”.

As per the Rajasthan Police, they declared the death of the deceased by saying that an accidental by collision with a train or suicide due to depression. The Counsel of the petitioner submitted that the railway authorities said that none of the drivers of the five trains that passed during the fateful night reported any kind of untoward incident.

The Supreme Court on July 8, directed the Rajasthan police to complete the investigation within a period of two months. However, the police took a different stand in the closure report by stating the death as a “homicidal death with no clue”. The Court further said that the new investigation team should have efficient personnel who is well-versed with the use of modern investigation technology.

[READ JUDGMENT]