SC grills Rajasthan government over student suicides: 'Why are they dying only in Kota?'

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday sharply questioned the Rajasthan government over the alarming rise in student suicides in Kota coaching centres, describing the situation as "serious."A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan noted that 14 student suicides had already been reported in the coaching hub this year."What are you doing as a state? Why are these children dying by suicide and only in Kota? Have you not given a thought as a state?” Justice Pardiwala asked the Rajasthan government.In response, the state's counsel informed the court that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) had been constituted to look into the suicide cases, news agency PTI reported.The court was hearing two related matters, one case related to the suicide of a 22-year-old IIT Kharagpur student, found hanging in his hostel room on May 4; and another case involving a NEET aspirant girl found dead in Kota, where she lived with her parents.The bench was informed that an FIR had been registered in the IIT Kharagpur case, but it questioned the four-day delay in filing it.“Don’t take these things lightly. These are very serious things,” the bench observed.It referred to its March 24 verdict, which had taken note of recurring student suicides in higher educational institutions and had ordered the formation of a national task force to address student mental health concerns.“Why you took four days to lodge an FIR?” the bench asked the police officer present in court.The officer replied that the FIR had been registered and the investigation was ongoing.“You continue with the investigation in accordance with law,” the bench directed.The court was told that IIT Kharagpur authorities had alerted the police after learning about the student’s suicide. However, the bench expressed dissatisfaction with the explanation given by both the institution's counsel and the police officer.“We could have taken a very strict view of the matter. We could have even proceeded for contempt against the police officer in-charge concerned of the jurisdictional police station,” the bench said.However, with the FIR now registered and the investigation underway, the court refrained from further comment.The bench added that the investigation must proceed “expeditiously in the right direction.”In the Kota case, the bench disapproved of the non-filing of an FIR.When asked how many student suicides had occurred in Kota this year, the state counsel responded with “14.”“Why are these students dying?” the bench asked.It reminded the counsel that the task force constituted by the court would take time to present a comprehensive report.“You are in contempt of our judgement. Why have you not registered the FIR?” the bench asked the state’s counsel.The bench also noted that the NEET aspirant had stopped residing in institute-provided accommodation in November 2024 and had since been living with her parents.“However, in line with our decision, it was the duty of the police concerned to register the FIR and carry out the investigation. The officer in-charge of the concerned territorial police station has failed in his duty. He has not complied with the directions issued by this court,” the bench said.The court has now summoned the concerned police officer from Kota to appear before it on July 14 to explain the failure.