The Orissa High Court stayed the National Human Rights Commission’s (NHRC) order and related proceedings concerning the death of a Nepalese student. The stay was granted on Monday in response to a petition filed by KIIT and KISS institutions. The petition challenged the NHRC’s directives in the case. Further legal proceedings are now paused pending the High Court’s review.
Cuttack: The Orissa High Court issued a stay on the National Human Rights Commission’s (NHRC) order and all related proceedings regarding the alleged suicide of a Nepalese student at KIIT University on February 16.
On March 27, the NHRC had held KIIT responsible for the student’s death, instructing the state chief secretary to file an action taken report within four weeks.
The order also mandated the commissioner of police for the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack area to provide an updated investigation report and urged the chairman of the UGC in New Delhi to consider necessary actions against KIIT University.
The stay was issued on Monday in response to a petition from KIIT and KISS contesting the NHRC’s order.
While notifying the NHRC to respond by April 26, Justice SK Panigrahi’s single-judge bench emphasized,
“It must be highlighted that when orders are passed by quasi-judicial authorities, adherence to the principles of natural justice is not a mere formality but a foundational requirement. The absence of notice or the denial of an opportunity to be heard renders such exercise susceptible to challenge and vitiates the fairness of the process.”
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As a temporary measure, the court ordered that all ongoing proceedings in the case before the NHRC be paused until the next hearing on April 29.
The enforcement of the NHRC’s order dated March 27, 2025, will also remain suspended until the court revisits the matter.
Justice Panigrahi instructed the state government, Khurda collector, commissioner of police, and the UGC chairman to refrain from taking any actions based on the NHRC’s order until the next hearing.
The NHRC had noted significant negligence and failure on the part of university authorities that allegedly led to the student’s suicide.
During the court proceedings, KIIT’s representatives argued that although the NHRC conducted an inquiry and drafted a report, neither the report nor its findings were shared with the petitioners before the NHRC issued its order on March 27.
They contended that since the NHRC acknowledged the case on March 3 and the Supreme Court referenced the incident in KIIT University alongside similar cases across India on March 24, the NHRC should have exercised more caution before issuing its order.
Tensions had flared on the KIIT campus after the tragic death of a third-year B.Tech (Computer Science) student from Nepal. She was found dead in her hostel room, leading to mass protests by students. On Monday (February 17, 2025), the university administration took Nepalese students to the railway station, which is 30 km away from the campus.
Meanwhile, Odisha Police handed over the student’s body to her father, Sunil Lamsal, after a post-mortem was conducted at AIIMS Bhubaneswar.
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