The Supreme Court on Monday took suo motu cognisance of recent student suicides at IIT Kharagpur and Sharda University, expressing grave concern over the recurring tragedies. A bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan remarked that “something is wrong” as they questioned whether the institutions informed police authorities promptly and registered criminal cases without delay.

The court highlighted that the suicide at IIT Kharagpur marked the fourth such incident there within just seven months. At Sharda University, a 24-year-old dental student recently took her life, leaving behind a note that led to the arrest of two faculty members. These alarming developments prompted the court to seek detailed responses from both institutions.

Senior advocate Aparna Bhatt has been appointed as amicus curiae to gather full details and inform the court about the status of FIRs and whether institutional protocol was followed. The justices warned that any delay in reporting or failure to act could result in contempt proceedings and civil imprisonment orders for the authorities involved.

The court recalled its earlier directive from March 24, which mandated compulsory FIR registration for all student suicides, and reiterated its concerns around deeper systemic issues such as sexual harassment, ragging, and caste-based discrimination in educational institutions. It also referred to the National Task Force led by former Justice S Ravindra Bhat, formed to investigate the root causes of campus suicides—a report that is still awaited.

The court’s intervention reflects growing judicial urgency to address mental health and accountability lapses in India’s academic institutions, as student suicides continue to rise.