New Delhi, Sept. 2 -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday referred to the recent suicide of a 31-year-old IIT Delhi scholar, calling it "one more unfortunate incident" and expressing hope that the directions issued by the court to address student suicides had been followed.
A National Task Force (NTF), constituted by the Supreme Court in March 2025 to examine student suicides across India, is expected to submit its final report by October 31, with the court saying it would be available by November. The task force submitted a status update on its work. The NTF had visited IIT Delhi on August 27 following the student's death on August 22. Senior advocate Aparna Bhat, representing the task force and assisting the court as amicus curiae, told the bench that the panel found the student had mental health issues based on interactions with students, faculty and administrative staff. IIT Delhi students had also protested, seeking a fair investigation and compensation for the student's family. The task force was formed to examine factors contributing to student suicides and suggest measures to improve mental health support and accountability in higher educational institutions. It has visited campuses and government bodies and conducted an online survey involving students, faculty members, parents, mental health professionals and institutions, receiving nearly 1.3 million responses.
In January, the Supreme Court had issued several directions after considering the NTF's interim report. These included making higher educational institutions accountable for students' mental well-being, requiring them to report suicides or unnatural deaths to law enforcement agencies and ensuring round-the-clock medical assistance on residential campuses. The court had also noted gaps in implementing existing guidelines on ragging, drug abuse, sexual harassment, accessibility, suicide prevention and mental health. It directed institutions to maintain a registration system for students aged 15 to 29 and asked the National Crime Records Bureau to separately record suicides among school-going and higher-education students.
The NTF's interim findings highlighted the scale of the concern, noting that suicide was the highest cause of death among women and the second-highest among men in the 15-29 age group. Its survey also found that more than 70% of higher educational institutions had no medical service provider, while fewer than 20% had external support. The task force has also identified several sources of student stress, including rigid attendance requirements, faculty shortages and, among medical students, long on-call duty hours. It is now analysing the survey data to identify systemic gaps, institutional deficiencies, risk factors and areas requiring policy and institutional reforms.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.