Gujarat HC notice to state in quashing of FIR plea filed by 5 MBBS students in Rajkot AIIMS student suicide case

Gujarat High Court has issued notice to the state government in a petition filed by five final-year MBBS students seeking quashing of the FIR registered against them in connection with the alleged abetment to suicide of their classmate, a 25-year-old intern doctor at AIIMS Rajkot.

The petitioners — Pranav Paliwal, Ashmit Sharma, Aayush Yadav, Nirvighanam Noor and Yuvraj Choudhary — were arrested in March following the death of Ratankumar Meghwal.Meghwal, a resident of Jaisalmer in Rajasthan. He was found dead near railway tracks close to the AIIMS campus on March 14-15, 2026.

 His body was discovered early in the morning by locals and railway authorities. Police recovered a bag belonging to the deceased containing a 17-page suicide note, his laptop, and mobile phone. In the note, Meghwal alleged physical assault and mental harassment by fellow students.

An FIR was lodged at Gandhigram Police Station in Rajkot based on a complaint by the victim's father. The five accused were booked under Section 108 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for abetment of suicide, along with relevant provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

The accused, all final-year MBBS students at AIIMS Rajkot, have now approached the high court seeking to quash the FIR. The court has sought a reply from the state government on the petition. Earlier, a Rajkot sessions court had granted conditional bail to the five students.