Supreme Court Takes Suo Moto Cognizance Of Two Students Suicide In IIT Kharagpur & Kota

The Bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice R. Mahadevan took up the matter for reporting compliance and was met with an Office Report indicating default on the part of the Union in depositing the amount within the stipulated two-week period.

While Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Brijender Chahar, appearing for the Union, submitted that a demand draft dated April 11, 2025, was ready and brought to Court, the Bench directed that the draft be deposited with the Registry without further delay.

The Court granted a final window of two days for the Union to comply with the order but did not let the opportunity pass without raising alarm over two fresh cases of student suicide; one from IIT Kharagpur and another from the coaching hub of Kota, Rajasthan.

The first incident involved a 22-year-old Civil Engineering student from Bihar, Mohammad Asif Qamar, who was found hanging in his hostel room at IIT Kharagpur’s Madan Mohan Malaviya Hall on May 4, 2025. It was reported that he was on a video call with a friend in Delhi moments before his death.

The Court expressed concern over this tragic loss, emphasizing that the case falls squarely within the purpose for which the task force was constituted.

The Bench sought to know whether the IIT Kharagpur administration has lodged a First Information Report (FIR) with the local police.

In another case, a female NEET-UG aspirant under the age of 18 allegedly died by suicide in Kota, Rajasthan, just days before the national entrance examination scheduled for May 11, 2025. The student hailed from Sheopur in Madhya Pradesh and had been residing in Kota for years while preparing for the competitive exam.

"So far as Kota (State of Rajasthan) is concerned, it is reported that this is the 14th case of suicide by a coaching student in Kota this very year i.e. 2025. Since January, 2025, a total of 17 cases of suicides by coaching students were reported in Kota last year. We would like to know whether an FIR has been registered in connection with this suicide also or not," the Bench said.

Taking serious note of the repeated incidents, the Court directed the Registry to call for immediate reports from both IIT Kharagpur and Kota authorities, specifically inquiring whether FIRs were registered in both cases.

The matter will now be heard on Tuesday, May 13, 2025. The Bench ordered that a copy of its directions be served immediately to ASG Brijender Chahar.

"Let the matter come up on Tuesday, the 13th May, 2025 with an appropriate Report. The Registry to call for the report from both the places at the earliest. One copy of this order shall be furnished at the earliest to Mr. Brijender Chahar, the learned ASG appearing for the Union of India," the Court ordered.