Supreme Court forms national task force to tackle student suicides in higher education

New Delhi, March 25: Taking note of the recurring cases of student suicides in higher educational institutions, the Supreme Court on Tuesday formed a National Task Force (NTF) to address the mental health issues and concerns of students to prevent such incidents.

A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan directed Delhi Police to register a First Information Report (FIR) on the complaints of the family members of two students who committed suicide while studying at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) - Delhi, in 2023.

The apex noted that a “disturbing pattern” of student suicides was being reported from various educational institutes.

It said that these tragedies underscored the urgent need for a more robust, comprehensive and responsive mechanism to address various factors which compel students to resort to taking 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.

The order further read that while former apex court judge Justice S Ravindra Bhat would be the Chairperson of the NTE, secretaries of a State's departments of higher education, social justice and empowerment, and legal affairs, aside from the Ministry of Women and Child Development, would be its ex-officio members.

The bench said the NTF would prepare a comprehensive report that includes, identification of the predominant causes that lead to suicides by students, analysis of existing regulations and recommendations for strengthening protections.

In the process of preparing its report, the court said, the NTF would have the authority to conduct sur-prise inspections of 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 of being subjected to caste discrimination.

The bench noted it was not in dispute that the police for some reason or the other declined to register an FIR on the complaints on the ground that no one could be said to have abetted the commission of suicide.

"This litigation is an eye-opener not just for the police but also for the parents whose children are studying in different educational institutions, more particularly those students residing in a hostel far from their respective homes, and also the management of the educational institutions across the country," it said.

- With inputs from news agencies