Court frames charges against IIT-B student in Darshan Solanki death case

Mumbai: The sessions court on Wednesday framed charges against IIT-Bombay student Arman Khatri of abetting suicide and criminal intimidation in the 2023 death of college mate Darshan Solanki. Additional sessions judge G G Bhansali also framed a charge under provisions of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against the accused.Khatri then pleaded not guilty and now faces trial in the case.Solanki, a first-year student of the B Tech (Chemical) course, allegedly jumped from a hostel floor on Feb 12, 2023, a day after his semester exams ended.Three weeks later, a special investigation team (SIT) of the Mumbai Police found a one-line note from Solanki's room allegedly blaming Khatri for his death. Police arrested Khatri on April 9, on charges of abetment to suicide and criminal intimidation under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and invoked the Atrocities Act. The chargesheet invoked these charges too.The defence advocate submitted that framing of charge may proceed, and the court on framing them explained their content to the accused, after which he pleaded "not guilty".The trial court recorded his plea and posted the case to April 27, 2026, for compliance of Section 294 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which allows documents filed by the prosecution or accused to be accepted as evidence without formal proof if their genuineness is not disputed, facilitating faster trials.The prosecution case was that they allegedly recovered certain messages sent by Solanki to the accused a day before.