Students clash: Pachaiyappa's and Presidency college principals impleaded
Of the 231 cases booked against city college students for violence and causing disturbance to public, Pachaiyappa's students were involved in 58 and Presidency students in 28.
Madras High Court
CHENNAI: Noting that most cases of student violence were between the students of Pachaiyappa's and Presidency colleges, the Madras High Court impleaded the principals of both the colleges.
Hearing the bail plea moved by Pachaiyappa's College students facing murder charges after the death of a Presidency student following a clash on October 4, Justice AD Jagadish Chandra said the court did not want to instill fear among the students but intended to hold them to be a responsible community.
He also expressed dissatisfaction that a similar violent incident involving college students took place in Chennai recently.
Appearing for the Higher Education Department, special government pleader Ravichandran submitted the report that the court had sought a report containing details of the criminal cases booked against college students in the last 10 years.
It showed that of the 231 cases booked against college students within Chennai for violence and causing disturbance to the general public, 198 cases were booked by the city police and 33 by the Railway Police, Chennai. Also, it added, 58 cases were booked against Pachaiyappa's College students and 28 against Presidency College students.
As most of the cases involved students from these two colleges, the department has sent a communication to the principals to sensitise professors, staff, and students, said the government pleader. The principals were also directed to hold a meeting with students’ representatives in this regard, he added.
The court then impleaded the principals of both colleges and reserved the order on the bail pleas.
On October 4, a group of Pachaiyappa's College students, including the petitioners, chased and attacked Presidency student A Sundar near Chennai Central suburban railway station, who succumbed to the injuries on October 9.
Based on the complaint lodged by his father, E Anandan, a daily wager, the Periamet police arrested five students under sections 103 and 109 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.