The Supreme Court on March 24 acknowledged the ongoing issue of student suicides in higher educational institutions and established a National Task Force to tackle mental health concerns and prevent such tragedies, PTI reported.
Highlighting a disturbing pattern of suicides across various educational institutes, the Court emphasized the urgent need for a stronger, more comprehensive, and responsive system to address the underlying factors driving students to take their own lives.
"The recurring instances of student suicides in higher educational institutions, including private educational institutions, serve as a grim reminder of the inadequacy and ineffectiveness of the existing legal and institutional framework in addressing mental health concerns of students on campuses and to prevent the students from taking the extreme step of committing suicides," the order said.
A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan instructed Delhi Police to file an FIR based on the complaints of the families of two students who died by suicide while studying at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, in 2023.
The bench further stated that the National Task Force (NTF) would compile a comprehensive report, identifying the primary causes of student suicides, analyzing existing regulations, and offering recommendations to strengthen protective measures. As part of this process, the Court granted the NTF the authority to conduct surprise inspections at any higher educational institution.
"Additionally, the task force shall be at liberty to make further recommendations beyond the specified mandate, wherever necessary, to ensure a holistic and effective approach towards addressing mental-health concerns of students and eliminating the incidence of suicides in higher educational institutions," the order added.
While the NTF would furnish an interim report within four months, a final report would preferably be filed within eight months, it said.
The apex court's verdict came on an appeal filed by the parents of two deceased students against a January 2024 order of the Delhi High Court which refused to direct the police to register an FIR in connection with the suicide by the two students.
While Ayush Ashna was found dead on July 8, 2023 in his hostel room, Anil Kumar was found dead on September 1, 2023 in his hostel room at IIT Delhi.
It was alleged that both the students, who belonged to the scheduled castes, were murdered and they had earlier confided in their parents being subjected to caste discrimination.
With inputs from PTI.
