Girl injured after jumping from High Court building

The Madras High Court campus witnessed tense moments on Tuesday when a 15-year-old girl jumped from the first floor of the buildingafter the hearing of a case related to her custody. She was injured and immediately rushed to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGH) in the High Court ambulance.

The Neelankarai police in Chennai had secured the minor girl from Andaman islands and produced her before a Division Bench of Justices M.S. Ramesh and V. Lakshminarayanan initially on August 8, 2025 following a habeas corpus petition (HCP) filed by her biological father who had divorced her mother.

When the case was taken up again on Tuesday, the girl told the court that she wanted to go with her mother who also resides in the Andamans. However, after perusing a confidential report submitted by the mediation centre, the judges felt that it would not be conducive and safe for her to go back to the Andamans.

The judges directed the police to admit her to the Government Children’s Home for Girls at Kellys in Chennai and then take her to the Institute of Mental Health at Kilpauk for psychiatric evaluation.

They also called for the evaluation report in a sealed cover by August 26, 2025.

After the hearing was over and the orders were passed, the police brought the girl outside the court hall and as they were walking on the corridors, she tried to escape and in the process, jumped from the first floor by holding on to the serial lights that had been put up for the Independence Day celebrations.

However, she lost balance and fell down. “Immediately, she was rushed to the government hospital in the High Court ambulance. It appears to be an accident that occurred during the bid to escape from the police and not a suicide attempt, although only a proper inquiry would reveal the real reason,” said a lawyer.

(Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the State’s health helpline 104, Tele-MANAS 14416, Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050 and Speak2Us helpline at 9375493754)