The Supreme Court has ordered all higher education institutions to immediately report any student suicide or unnatural death to the police. The Court said colleges and universities cannot avoid their duty to ensure student safety, mental well-being, and timely support systems.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India on Thursday passed important directions for all Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) across the country to deal with student suicides and unnatural deaths in a serious and responsible manner. The Court made it clear that colleges and universities cannot escape their duty to provide a safe, fair and supportive environment for students.
A Bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan directed that every HEI must immediately inform the police if any student dies by suicide or under unnatural circumstances. This information must be given as soon as the institution comes to know about the incident.
Issuing strict instructions, the Court said educational institutions cannot avoid their responsibility and must ensure that campuses are safe, inclusive, equitable and suitable places for learning and student well-being.
The Bench clearly stated,
“All HEIs must report any incident of suicide or unnatural death of a student, regardless of the location of its occurrence (i.e. on campus, hostels, PG accommodations, or otherwise outside the institutional premises), to the police authorities no sooner than they come to know about the incident. This should cover all students, irrespective of whether they are studying in the classroom, distance or online mode of learning,”.
The Court further directed that all such incidents must also be reported annually to the University Grants Commission (UGC) and other professional regulatory bodies.
In the case of central universities, institutes of national importance, or institutions not covered by other regulators, the information must be sent to the Department of Higher Education under the Ministry of Education, Government of India.
To ensure immediate medical help, the apex court ordered that every residential HEI must have access to qualified medical professionals round-the-clock. If medical facilities are not available inside the campus, they must be available within a one-kilometre radius to provide emergency support to students.
Taking note of faculty shortages across many institutions, both government and private, the Court directed that all vacant teaching and non-teaching posts must be filled within four months.
The Bench emphasised special priority for posts reserved for marginalised and underrepresented communities, including persons with disabilities.
The Court observed,
“Keeping in mind the faculty shortages which have been reported in several HEIs, both public and private, it must be ensured that all vacant faculty positions (both teaching and non-teaching) be filled within a period of four months, with priority given to posts reserved for candidates from marginalised and underrepresented communities including those posts reserved for PwDs (persons with disabilities),”.
It added that special recruitment drives may be conducted to fill reserved posts as per Central and State government reservation rules.
Highlighting the seriousness of the issue, the Court noted that student suicides reflect deeper problems related to stress, pressure, and lack of institutional support. It stated that the visible cases of suicide represent only a small part of a much larger crisis affecting student mental health.
The Bench said appointments to key administrative positions such as Vice-Chancellors, Registrars and other senior posts must also be completed within four months. It further stressed that ideally, such vacancies should be filled within one month from the date they arise to ensure smooth functioning of institutions.
The Court also directed all HEIs to submit annual reports to the Central and State governments detailing the number of vacant reserved posts, filled posts, reasons for vacancies, and the time taken to complete appointments. This, the Court said, is necessary to ensure regular accountability.
On the issue of scholarships, the apex court passed strong directions and said,
“The backlog of any and all pending scholarship disbursements must be cleared within a period of four months by the relevant central and state government authorities,”.
It further directed that future scholarship payments must follow clear timelines and students must be informed in advance about payment schedules.
The Bench clearly stated,
“Disbursal of dates and schedules must also be made known to the student recipient. Even in cases of unavoidable administrative delay, HEIs must not, as a policy, make the student recipients accountable for paying or clearing their fees,”.
Protecting students from harassment due to delays in scholarship payments, the Court added,
“No student should be prevented from appearing in an examination, removed from hostels, barred from attending classes, or have their marksheets and degrees withheld because of delays in disbursal of scholarships. Any such institutional policy may be viewed strictly,”.
The apex court further directed all HEIs to strictly follow all binding regulations, including the UGC Regulations on Curbing the Menace of Ragging in Higher Educational Institutions, 2009, and other related rules.
For better tracking and prevention, the Court directed that data from the Sample Registration System on suicides, especially among people aged 15 to 29 years, must be centrally maintained to get accurate estimates of student deaths by suicide in higher education institutions.
The Supreme Court also recalled that it had last year constituted a National Task Force (NTF) to address student mental health concerns and prevent suicides. It reiterated that the responsibility of colleges and universities is not limited to academic success but also includes protecting the mental health, dignity and overall well-being of students.
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