The District and Sessions Judge of Kangra at Dharamsala, Chirag Bhanu Singh, on Saturday extended the interim bail of Assistant Professor Ashok Kumar and three girl students till February 13, citing the police’s failure to place concrete evidence on record in connection with the death of a Dharamsala college student.
Ashok Kumar had moved an application for anticipatory bail on January 2 after an FIR was registered against him and others at Dharamsala police station under Sections 75, 115(2) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and Section 3 of the Himachal Pradesh Educational Institution (Prohibition of Ragging) Act, 2009.
Subsequently, three girl students named in the FIR also approached the sessions court seeking anticipatory bail.
During the hearing, the investigating officer (IO), through the public prosecutor, informed the court that the medical board’s report to ascertain the exact cause of the victim’s death was still awaited.
The police also told the court that the analysis of the victim’s mobile phone data, collected by forensic and cyber experts, had not yet been compiled, despite being crucial to the investigation.
Although a partial status report running into a few pages was submitted, the prosecution sought additional time to file a comprehensive report supported by evidence, arguing that both the medical opinion and mobile phone details were vital to the case.
The partial status report further revealed that the police had sought legal opinion on invoking provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, but the advice was yet to be received.
It also said the victim’s location within Government College, Dharamsala, was traced only four times between July 28, 2025, and September 25, 2025, the period during which allegations of ragging and harassment were said to have occurred.
On a key piece of evidence, a video recorded by the victim before her death allegedly containing allegations of sexual harassment, the IO informed the court that it was recorded at Mahajan Hospital, Pathankot.
Expressing displeasure during oral arguments, the judge pulled up the police for what he termed a “dilly-dallying” approach, observing that the FIR had been registered on January 1 and questioning how much more time was required to submit a concrete status report.
Meanwhile, Vikram Kumar, the victim’s father, through counsel sought dismissal of the anticipatory bail pleas and cancellation of interim relief granted to the accused assistant professor. The court, however, dismissed the application as uncontested.
The matter is now listed for further hearing on February 13.
