No appeal by deceased’s mother as 10-day window passes

The Supreme Court (SC) of Bhutan has clarified that no appeal by Sangay Dema has been made neither to the High Court (HC) nor SC regarding her 16-year-old deceased son’s case. 

The SC said that since the appeal was not made within ten days after the HC judgement, the appeal period is over. Therefore, no appeal can be made henceforth.

The mother, in her appeals, after the Dungkhag court’s judgement and subsequent judgement including the HC affirming the initial judgement of battery conviction to the monastic teacher, repeated that apart from battery charge, the teacher is also responsible for her son’s death by suicide.

The HC delivered its judgement on 4th August 2026 fully affirming the Sarpang Dzongkhag Court’s judgement.

The mother of a deceased 16-year-old monk had appealed the case to the High Court on 16th June 2026.

The Sarpang Dzongkhag court had delivered its judgement on 11th June 2026.

The appeal was made on 2nd April 2026.

The Dungkhag court’s judgement was delivered on 31st March 2026.

In all the court appeals, the mother’s argument that the monastic teacher should be held criminally responsible for her son’s subsequent suicide, alleging a direct link to the physical discipline.

The court stated that under the Penal Code of Bhutan (PCB), criminal liability for a secondary consequence requires an unbroken, foreseeable and proximate causal chain.

It held that the prosecution had not framed any formal charge of abetment or complicity in suicide, and that an appellate court cannot introduce new criminal charges suo motu without violating due process.

The case relates to the death of a 16-year-old monk from a monastic institution in Sarpang, who later died by suicide following an alleged prior physical assault at the institution.