5 min readNew DelhiJun 25, 2026 05:09 PM IST
First published on: Jun 25, 2026 at 10:45 AM IST
Expressing shock that a young, promising woman lost her life due to a disturbing mindset where some men can’t take rejection, the Madras High Court has upheld the conviction and life sentence of an engineering student who murdered his classmate inside a classroom in 2016. Penning the verdict with a “heavy heart”, the court also flayed student witnesses who turned hostile during the trial, saying they had “let down” the victim.
A bench of justices N Anand Venkatesh and K K Ramakrishnan observed that the accused’s brutal, reckless act had “snatched away” the woman’s dreams to make it big, even as it sharply pointed out that education had failed to build character in the fellow students who had turned hostile and the incident had exposed their “pusillanimity”.
“This court had to express it strongly since it is quite disappointing that the students who saw the incident happening in front of their eyes chose to give a different version in the court… With a heavy heart, this court has to hold that the students had let down the deceased by not supporting the case of the prosecution and thus they failed in their duty to uphold truth,” the June 15 order noted.
The prosecution alleged that the third-year BE Civil Engineering student and the accused, who was studying in the same branch, had been close but after she began to maintain distance, he turned resentful and agitated.
Justices N Anand Venkatesh and K K Ramakrishnan stated that the least that the student witnesses could have done was to speak the truth before the court.
Sour relationship, brutal murder
On August 30, 2016, the woman was attending a class when the accused allegedly entered the classroom, abused her and repeatedly hit her on the head with a wooden log. An assistant professor who tried to intervene also sustained injuries. The accused, meanwhile, threatened the class before fleeing.
Subsequently, the woman was rushed to a hospital, where she succumbed. Following her death, the police altered the offence from attempted murder to murder, and the accused was arrested the same day.
The murder weapon was recovered, and the medical evidence showed that the woman had suffered multiple skull fractures and serious injuries. The police eventually filed a chargesheet for offences including murder, trespass, causing hurt, criminal intimidation and use of obscene language. The trial court convicted the accused, prompting him to move the current appeal.
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There is no use in merely expressing dissent on social media — it has to translate into action, or else students will only become paper tigers in real life.
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Witnessed. Stayed silent. Students saw the murder happen inside a classroom — yet turned hostile in court.
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Online vs courtroom Court drew a sharp contrast between students' social media activism and their silence under oath.
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'Pusillanimity' Court said education failed to build character — calling the engineering students cowardly.
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Warning to all campuses Court said a similar incident could happen to any student — inaction now has consequences.
Court's verdict
With a heavy heart, the court held that the students had let down the deceased by not supporting the prosecution — failing their duty to uphold truth.
Express InfoGenIE
‘No use showing dissent on social media’
- It is an unfortunate case where a female student who used to have some proximity with the accused chose to stay away from him later, which the accused could not digest. Several recent incidents indicate a trend where a boy, rejected in a relationship, thinks that he is justified in killing her if she does not continue with it.
- The testimony of an injured witness (assistant professor) has a higher degree of credibility, and there must be very strong reasons for discarding it.
- Despite the incident taking place during the day in a classroom, the students did not attempt to dominate the accused. The least they could have done was to speak the truth before the court.
- There is no use in merely expressing dissent and views on social media; it has to translate into action, or else the students will remain paper tigers in real life. They must understand that it is only a matter of time before a similar incident may happen to any student.
- With a heavy heart, this court has to hold that the students let down the deceased and failed in their duty to uphold the truth. This is the type of attitude exhibited by the so-called educated engineering students.
Punishment upheld
The court upheld the accused’s conviction for the murder of his classmate under Section 302 (murder) and other relevant provisions of the IPC, holding that the evidence established a strong basis for the case of the prosecution, and there is no reason to interfere with the judgment of the trial court.
In view of the material on record, the man’s criminal appeal stands dismissed, and the trial court should take steps to secure the presence of the accused person to undergo the remaining period of the life sentence awarded to him.
The Civil Engineering student and the accused, who was studying in the same branch, had been close but after she began to maintain distance, he allegedly turned resentful. (AI-generated image) 
Justices N Anand Venkatesh and K K Ramakrishnan stated that the least that the student witnesses could have done was to speak the truth before the court.
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