Report in SC flags violations over Greater Noida's Sharda university suicide

According to the report, the university failed to inform the police, and the parents had done so two hours after the body was discovered

The amicus curiae appointed by the Supreme Court to examine incidents of student suicides, in a report to the court, flagged serious violations against Greater Noida’s Sharda University in handling the suicide of a second-year dental surgery student due to alleged harassment by two professors.

A bench of justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan will examine the report when the matter is taken up on Monday. (Representative photo)

According to the report, the university failed to inform the police, and the parents had done so two hours after the body was discovered. Further, it said that the body had been shifted by the college authorities to the hospital, and an examination of the student’s hostel room led to the discovery of multiple fingerprints, indicating clear signs of the crime scene getting “contaminated”.

A bench of justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan will examine the report when the matter is taken up on Monday. On July 21, the court took suo motu cognisance of two instances of student suicides: one at Sharda University and another by a fourth-year student at IIT Kharagpur.

In March, the court constituted a National Task Force (NTF) to probe into the larger issue of student suicides across the country and the systemic changes required to address this issue. The bench had appointed senior advocate Aparna Bhat to assist the court as amicus curiae. Last Monday, the court asked Bhat, assisting on behalf of NTF, to gather details about the two recent instances of suicide and file her report.

While the report has not been made public, persons in the NTF aware of the proceedings confirmed the findings. They said the report was prepared after extensive talks with Sharda University, IIT Kharagpur, police in Greater Noida and Kharagpur, parents of the victims, students studying with the victims, staff and professors teaching the victims and assessment of electronic evidence.

As regards IIT Kharagpur, the NTF found out that the University followed the protocol by calling the police after discovering the body. The order by the top court in March required the University or college authorities where a student suicide takes place to immediately alert the police. The IIT Kharagpur followed further precautions by involving a doctor and confirming death before calling the police. The body was taken by the police to the hospital as per protocol, as investigations in the case are still ongoing. However, no suicide note was left by the fourth-year student who had just returned from home after vacation. The report further informed the court that despite successive attempts to reach out to the police and parents, there was no response forthcoming.

However, this was not the case with Sharda University.

“The police confirmed they got no call from the university. It was the parents who informed the police two hours after the body was discovered. By the time the cops reached the spot, the university staff had shifted the body to the hospital,” the report said, according to persons aware of the development.

The investigation in the case is ongoing, and the two professors named in the suicide note, Shairy Vashisht and Mahinder Singh Chauhan, have since been arrested. The first information report recorded by the parents names five faculty members in addition to the two named in the note by the victim.

In an order on July 21, the top court said, “In these two cases, if FIRs are not registered or if there is a delay and nothing has been done, be prepared. We will initiate contempt proceedings and direct them to be sent to civil prison.”

The NTF is headed by former Supreme Court judge S Ravindra Bhat and is expected to submit its preliminary report in September.

Meanwhile, last Friday, a separate bench of the top court issued nationwide guidelines on mental health to be framed by all educational institutions, residential schools, colleges, training academies, coaching hubs and hostels.

The directions issued by the court include the appointment of qualified mental health professionals, such as a counsellor or psychologist, in institutions with more than 100 students, and require institutions with fewer students to make arrangements with external mental health experts.

Among other directions, the judgment made training on psychological first aid mandatory for faculty and staff, a confidential mechanism for reporting and addressing complaints of any kind of harassment, sexual assault, ragging, and bullying, and sensitisation camps for parents and guardians to reduce undue academic stress.