A bench of justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan sought responses from the two institutes on whether the cases were promptly brought to the police’s notice
The Supreme Court on Monday took suo motu cognisance of student suicides at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur (West Bengal) and Greater Noida’s Sharda University, observing that “something is wrong”. It sought responses from the two institutes on whether the cases were promptly brought to the police’s notice for the registration of criminal cases.
A 24-year-old Bachelor of Dental Surgery student at the Sharda University died by suicide last week, leaving a note that led to the arrest of two faculty members. The court noted that the suicide at IIT Kharagpur was the fourth such case in seven months and wondered what was happening at the institute.
A bench of justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan sought the assistance of senior advocate Aparna Bhatt as amicus curiae to gather details of the two cases and inform the court whether first information reports (FIRs) were registered and whether the authorities informed the police with promptness.
“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 court sought details of the preliminary probe in the two cases.
The lawyer of IIT Kharagpur, which has been under the court’s scrutiny over the past suicides, informed the bench that it acted with promptness.
On March 24, the Supreme Court mandated registration of FIRs for every suicide. It examined two suicides at IIT Delhi, expanded the scope of the matter, and formed a former Supreme Court judge S Ravindra Bhat-led National Task Force headed. It urged the task force, which includes experts, to examine the reasons for student suicides. The committee is yet to submit its preliminary report.
The court, in its order in March, noted suicides in college hostels due to sexual harassment, ragging, or caste discrimination among other factors.
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