SC sets up task force on student suicides

The Supreme Court on Monday took note of the recurring cases of student suicides in higher educational institutions and formed a National Task Force (NTF) to address the mental health concerns of students and prevent such incidents.

A Bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan directed Delhi Police to register an FIR on the complaints of the family members of two students who died by suicide while studying at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, in 2023.

Noting a “disturbing pattern” of student suicides at various educational institutes, the apex court said 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.

While the order said former apex court judge Justice S Ravindra Bhat would be the chairperson of the NTF, secretaries of a state’s higher education departments, 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 would include 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 surprise 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.