New Delhi, July 13 -- The Supreme Court on Monday refused to grant anticipatory bail to Kannur Dental College professor Dr M Kodanda Ram, who is allegedly accused of verbally harassing Dalit student Nithin Raj, who died by suicide in April this year.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta dismissed the appeal filed by the professor challenging the Kerala High Court's refusal to grant him anticipatory bail.

During the hearing, senior advocate DS Naidu, appearing for the professor, argued that the alleged classroom incident had taken place nearly a month before the student's death and, therefore, could not be treated as the immediate trigger for the suicide.

He submitted that about an hour before the student died, he had been ...