Supreme Court sets up task force to prevent student suicides

Supreme Court of India. File pic

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 J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan also directed the Delhi Police to register an FIR on the complaints of the family members of two students who allegedly died by suicide at the IIT Delhi, in 2023.

Noting a "disturbing pattern" of student suicides were being reported from 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 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 surprise inspections of any higher educational institutions.

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