‘One more unfortunate case of suicide’: Supreme Court reacts to IIT-Delhi student’s death

The Supreme Court on Tuesday referred to the recent death of an IIT Delhi scholar as “one more unfortunate incident of suicide” as it reviewed the progress of a National Task Force (NTF) examining student suicides across India.

The court was informed that the NTF expects to complete its final report by October 31, within the deadline set by the court. The Supreme Court said the report would be available by November.

“We read in the newspapers about one more unfortunate incident of suicide. We hope the directions passed by us were followed,” a bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan said.

NTF examines IIT Delhi death

Senior advocate Aparna Bhat, representing the NTF and assisting the court as amicus curiae, said the task force visited IIT Delhi on August 27 following the August 22 death of a 31-year-old scholar.

According to the NTF's findings, the student had mental health issues, based on discussions with students, faculty and administrative staff. The death had prompted IIT Delhi students to protest, seeking a fair investigation and compensation for the family.

The task force has been studying student welfare concerns through campus visits, discussions with authorities and an extensive online survey.

Court seeks stronger safeguards

The Supreme Court had constituted the NTF in March 2025 and issued several directions in January after receiving its interim report.

The court had noted gaps in the implementation of existing guidelines covering ragging, drug abuse, sexual harassment, accessibility, suicide prevention and mental health. It also directed higher educational institutions to maintain registration data for people aged 15-29 and asked the National Crime Records Bureau to separately track suicides among school and higher education students.

The NTF's interim findings said suicide was the leading cause of death among women and the second-highest among men in the 15-29 age group.

The task force also found that more than 70 per cent of surveyed institutions had no medical service provider, while fewer than 20 per cent had external support.

Nearly 1.3 million survey responses

The NTF received nearly 1.3 million responses from students, parents, faculty members, mental health professionals and institutions. It is analysing the data for recurring trends, institutional shortcomings, regional concerns and vulnerabilities.

“The NTF is examining the data with a view to identifying systemic gaps, institutional deficiencies, risk factors contributing to student distress and areas requiring policy intervention and institutional reform.”

The task force has also interacted with experts from the UK, Canada, Sweden, South Korea and Australia while preparing a proposed framework for suicide prevention and postvention across higher education institutions.