The Supreme Court has issued notices to IIT Delhi and IIT Kharagpur, seeking their response on a student’s plea for transfer due to mental health concerns. The petition emphasizes access to proper treatment and family support.
The Supreme Court requested a response from IIT Delhi and IIT Kharagpur regarding a plea for transferring a student due to his mental health issues.
The plea references the court’s recent decision in Sukdeb Saha vs. State of Andhra Pradesh, which clearly established that the right to mental health is a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution.
A distinguished student found himself embroiled in a conflict between two top IITs, as IIT Kharagpur faced allegations of denying his medically necessary transfer, which exacerbated his documented mental health issues.
The student, needing specialized therapy available in Delhi, sought a transfer to IIT Delhi in accordance with Inter-IIT regulations, particularly due to the proximity of AIIMS Delhi.
Despite initially agreeing to assess his situation by forming a medical board, IIT Kharagpur abruptly dismissed his request on the same day, forcing him to choose between his health and education.
Represented by advocate Vipin Nair, the student approached the Supreme Court, where Justices B V Nagarathna and R Mahadevan issued notices to IIT Delhi, IIT Kharagpur, and AIIMS Delhi. The court scheduled a hearing for October.
The plea referenced the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Sukdeb Saha vs. State of Andhra Pradesh, which recognized the right to mental health as a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution.
This move by the court emphasizes the importance of enforcing the guidelines from that judgment and the recommendations of the National Task Force on Student Mental Health, holding leading institutions accountable for the well-being of their students.
The petitioner, a first-year Bachelor of Architecture student at IIT Kharagpur (JEE Advanced AIR 3587, SC Category), requested the Supreme Court’s intervention for his medically necessary transfer to IIT Delhi.
His plea indicated that he suffered from borderline personality disorder, following a complex medical history that began in 2019 with a diagnosis of depression and anxiety at PGI Chandigarh.
It stated,
“Due to his younger age, he was unable to properly articulate his symptoms, receiving low-dose medication that continued until 2022 without significant improvement. As his condition persisted and his ability to communicate symptoms improved with age, he underwent specialized RTMS therapy for 1-2 months of daily treatment in 2022,”
While RTMS facilities exist in West Bengal, they are located in Kolkata at private hospitals that are prohibitively expensive for the petitioner. In contrast, affordable government facilities offering this specialized treatment are available at AIIMS Delhi, only 7 kilometers from the IIT Delhi campus.
The plea noted,
“Since IIT Delhi does not offer a B Arch program, the transfer necessarily involved placement in a suitable B Tech program either based on his JEE Advanced rank or to a branch to which the lowest All India Rank JEE student was admitted strictly following the established Inter-IIT Transfer Rules that permit medical transfers with appropriate program placement,”
Case Title: XXX v. Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur and others, W.P.(C) 889/2025