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St Columba’s suicide: Delhi HC asks for status report after father alleges police going slow on probe

Class 10 student’s father wants investigation transferred to CBI or SIT, says Delhi Police ‘acting under influence and pressure’.

3 min readNew DelhiDec 4, 2025 02:39 PM IST

The father also objected to the case being given to a male investigating officer (IO) instead of a woman officer. (File)

The Delhi High Court has sought a status report on the investigation into the suicide of a Class 10 student of the prestigious St Columba’s School in central Delhi.

The father of the boy has petitioned the court asking that the investigation be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or a Special Investigation Team (SIT).

The teenage student had jumped to his death at the Rajendra Place Metro station on November 18, leaving behind a note saying “mental harassment” by his teachers had driven him to take his own life. In the face of protests led by the boy’s family, the school placed four teachers under suspension, and the Delhi government set up a “high-level” committee to investigate the incident.

Justice Neena Bansal Krishna of the High Court issued notice to Delhi Police on Thursday (December 4). The boy’s father, represented by advocate Pritish Sabharwal, informed the court that police had recorded the statements of the parents only on December 3, and they remained unaware if the suspected teachers had been called to record their statements.

The father also objected to the case being given to a male investigating officer (IO) instead of a woman officer.

The father has alleged that the investigation “appears to be biased to the extent that it is protecting the accused persons even when they have been named in the suicide note”.

The note “clearly denotes that the level of mental harassment which was caused to his son [and which] led him to commit suicide”, which falls within the defiinition of the offence of aiding and instigation, the plea says.

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The father has accused the police of “acting under influence and pressure”. He has pointed out that it had taken more than four hours to register the FIR, and has alleged that police had attempted to dictate its contents by asking the father not to mention the name of the school.

According to the plea, the transfer of the probe is “essential” in view of the boy’s last wish that action be taken against the teachers who had harassed him, and “to safeguard other students who may be subjected to torture, harassment or gaslighting”.

Sohini Ghosh

Sohini Ghosh is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express. Previously based in Ahmedabad covering Gujarat, she recently moved to the New Delhi bureau, where she primarily covers legal developments at the Delhi High Court Professional Profile Background: An alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), she previously worked with ET NOW before joining The Indian Express. Core Beats: Her reporting is currently centered on the Delhi High Court, with a focus on high-profile constitutional disputes, disputes over intellectual property, criminal and civil cases, issues of human rights and regulatory law (especially in the areas of technology and healthcare). Earlier Specialty: In Gujarat, she was known for her rigorous coverage in the beats of crime, law and policy, and social justice issues, including the 2002 riot cases, 2008 serial bomb blast case, 2016 flogging of Dalits in Una, among others. She has extensively covered health in the state, including being part of the team that revealed the segregation of wards at the state’s largest government hospital on lines of faith in April 2020. With Ahmedabad being a UNESCO heritage city, she has widely covered urban development and heritage issues, including the redevelopment of the Sabarmati Ashram Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) Her recent reporting from the Delhi High Court covers major political, constitutional, corporate, and public-interest legal battles: High-Profile Case Coverage She has extensively covered the various legal battles - including for compensation under the aegis of North East Delhi Riots Claims Commission - pertaining to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, as well as 1984 anti-Sikh riots. She has also led coverage at the intersection of technology and governance, and its impact on the citizenry, from, and beyond courtrooms — such as the government’s stakeholder consultations for framing AI-Deepfake policy. Signature Style Sohini is recognized for her sustained reporting from courtrooms and beyond. She specialises in breaking down dense legal arguments to make legalese accessible for readers. Her transition from Gujarat to Delhi has seen her expand her coverage on regulatory, corporate and intellectual property law, while maintaining a strong commitment to human rights and lacuna in the criminal justice system. X (Twitter): @thanda_ghosh ... Read More