Bombay High Court quashes FIR against Pune college over Murud drownings

The Bombay High Court quashed the 2016 FIR against Pune college representatives over 14 student deaths at Murud beach. The ruling found no gross negligence but urged stronger implementation of beach safety measures.

In Short

• The 2016 picnic involved 116 students and staff from Abeda Inamdar College
• Forty-one third-year students entered the sea, where 14 were swept away
• Police registered the case nearly 80 days after the tragedy

The Bombay High Court has quashed a 2016 FIR against a teacher and the management of a Pune college over the drowning of 14 students off Murud beach, news agency Press Trust of India reported.

The court held that the victims were adults who were capable of understanding the consequences of their actions. It also found no evidence of gross negligence by the teachers accompanying them.

The incident occurred on February 1, 2016, when 116 students and staff members of Abeda Inamdar Senior College of Arts, Science and Commerce in Pune went on a picnic to Murud in Maharashtra's Raigad district. At the beach, 41 third-year students entered the sea, and 14 of them were swept away and drowned.

Nearly 80 days after the incident, an FIR was registered against 17 people, including the college's trustees, principal, teachers and staff. They were booked under Indian Penal Code sections dealing with causing death by negligence and acts committed with a common intention.

Justice Milind Jadhav said there was no material on record to establish gross or serious negligence by the teachers accompanying the students, according to PTI.

The court said the victims, who were third-year BSc students and possessed a reasonable degree of life experience, could be expected to distinguish between right and wrong and understand the likely consequences of their actions and conduct.

“It is seen that it was in this context that these applicants permitted them to enjoy the fun and frolic on the beach,” the court said, adding that the drowning of the 14 students was an accident.

The court ruled that, in the absence of evidence directly connecting any negligent act to the deaths, criminal liability could not be attributed to the accused.

Calling for the effective implementation of safety norms, the High Court said, “It is unfortunate that every time a tragedy involving the loss of multiple lives occurs, it is followed by widespread public outcry.”

The bench said the effective implementation of safety norms and other preventive measures continued to be a matter of serious concern. “We cannot have a knee jerk reaction after every mishap,” it said, asking the government to consider introducing or strengthening safety measures at beaches in the wider interest of society.

The High Court, therefore, quashed the FIR after finding no evidence of serious negligence by the college representatives, while stressing the need for stronger and more effectively implemented beach safety measures.

- Ends