Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has quashed the FIR registered against the trustees, principal and teachers of a Pune college over the drowning of 14 students at Murud beach in Raigad district in February 2016, holding that college staff cannot be held criminally liable for a mishap at a public beach involving adult students.
Source: Bar and Bench
Justice Milind N. Jadhav allowed the applications in P.A. Inamdar and Others v. State of Maharashtra and quashed FIR No. 24 of 2016, registered at Murud police station under Sections 304A and 34 of the Indian Penal Code against 17 people connected with Abeda Inamdar Senior College, run by the Maharashtra Cosmopolitan Education Society.
Source: Law Trend
What happened in 2016
On February 1, 2016, the college took 116 students on a picnic to Murud beach. According to the judgment, about 20 students were swept away by an undercurrent in the sea; around six were rescued with the help of local people, but 14 students lost their lives. An FIR was registered about 80 days later, on April 19, 2016, on the complaint of the father of one of the deceased students.
Why the court quashed the case
The court held that there was no material showing a direct or proximate connection between any specific negligent act of the college staff and the drownings, and no gross negligence was established. It observed that the students were adults above 18 years of age at a public beach, and that in the absence of mens rea the tragedy was a case of a simple accident rather than a criminal offence by the teachers.
Beach safety is the state's job, court says
The court held that responsibility for safety measures at public beaches rests with the state government. It directed that a copy of the judgment be sent to the Maharashtra Chief Secretary, and called on the state to formulate a comprehensive beach safety policy — including bilingual warning boards in English and Marathi showing high-tide timings, lifeguards and watchtowers at crowded beaches — so that such tragedies are not repeated.
Source: Verdictum