In a bid to curb escalating student violence, the Madras High Court (HC) has taken a unique approach by granting bail to four murder-accused college students on the condition that they serve at trauma wards in government hospitals.

The students, all undergraduates (UGs) from Pachaiyappa's College in Chennai, were further instructed to submit handwritten reflections on their experiences, as reported by Bar and Bench.

Justice AD Jagadish Chandira, who passed the order on December 2, specified that two of the students will report to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, while the other two will serve at the Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital, every day from 10 am to 2 pm until December 19. Each student was also directed to execute a bond of Rs 15,000.

The four students — Chandru, Eswar, Yuvaraj, and Eswaran — were arrested on October 4 following an attack on a Presidency College student, who later succumbed to his injuries. The incident was reportedly the result of inter-college rivalry. 

While the accused claimed innocence, the police maintained that the attack stemmed from ongoing tensions, Bar and Bench reported. Advocates P Muthamizhselvakumar, S Mohan Raj, and D Dhanasekar represented the students, while Government Advocate Leonard Arul Joseph Selvam appeared for the state.

Taking a broader view, the high court highlighted concerns over rising student violence and added state higher education officials and college principals as parties to the case to propose solutions. 

Two external organisations — the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and the NGO Sattha Panchayat Iyakkam — also filed petitions seeking the court's permission to present their proposals for curbing incidents of violence.

The court will next hear the matter on December 20.