SC questions Gr Noida varsity delay in reporting student suicide, calls for ‘lawful’ probe

The court was informed by amicus curiae senior advocate Aparna Bhat that in the Sharda University case, the complaint was lodged by the student’s parent after two hours had lapsed since the discovery of the body

New Delhi

The bench refused to pass any further order, directing the probe to proceed. (Representative photo)

The Supreme Court on Monday called for the probe into student suicide deaths at Sharda University and IIT Kharagpur to proceed “expeditiously, in accordance with the law”, while questioning the silence of Sharda University in reporting the incident and directing IIT Kharagpur to ascertain the reason for four student deaths at the institute over the past seven months.

A bench of justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan had taken suo motu cognisance of the two incidents as part of its broader directions passed in March for setting up a National Task Force (NTF) to identify causes behind increasing student suicides.

“We are doing this for our children, our progeny,” it said, as it took up responses filed by the two educational institutions explaining their conduct.

The court was informed by amicus curiae senior advocate Aparna Bhat that in the Sharda University case, the complaint was lodged by the student’s parent after two hours had lapsed since the discovery of the body at the college hostel room on July 18. Bhat pointed out that the father was informed of the incident by students, and that the management failed to inform the police and parents.

“You (management) should have informed…Was it not your duty to immediately inform the police and parents?” the bench asked senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for the university.

The amicus curiae told the court that a note left by the student, a 24-year-old second-year Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) student, led to the arrest of two members of the faculty. The bench refused to pass any further order, while noting, “Our concern was the investigation should proceed. We will not say anything further as it may prejudice the investigation.”

The court also sought to know the progress of the investigation into the death reported from IIT Kharagpur. The amicus pointed out that the IIT administration had informed the police after they discovered that a fourth-year student had committed suicide in the hostel room. The incident took place soon after he joined classes upon returning from vacation at home.

The court said, “What is wrong with IIT Kharagpur? Why are students committing suicide? Have you given it any thought?”

Senior advocate MR Shamshad, appearing for the IIT administration, told the court that a 10-member committee has been constituted to probe the present incident. He said that, in addition, a 12-member counselling committee was established by the institute for students to report their problems.

Bhat informed the court that she could not carry out a spot visit to IIT Kharagpur, but confirmed that a complaint was lodged, converted into an FIR, and an investigation is ongoing.

“Let investigation in both matters proceed expeditiously in accordance with law and in the right direction,” the court said in its order, while posting the matter after four weeks.

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