On Tuesday, the Supreme Court of India sought reports on whether First Information Reports (FIRs) were registered following the recent suicides of a student at IIT Kharagpur and a NEET aspirant in Kota, Rajasthan.

A bench comprising Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice R. Mahadevan directed the court registry to obtain detailed reports from both locations at the earliest.

The court took note of the tragic incident involving a 22-year-old civil engineering student at IIT Kharagpur, who was found hanging in his hostel room on May 4, 2025. The deceased, Mohammad Asif Qamar, hailed from Sheohar district in Bihar and was residing at Madan Mohan Malaviya Hall.

Referring to media reports, the bench observed that Qamar was reportedly on a video call with a friend in Delhi shortly before his death. "This is yet another unfortunate case of student suicide — an issue we are actively addressing through the formation of a national task force," the court remarked.

Earlier, the apex court had ordered the establishment of a National Task Force (NTF) under the leadership of former Supreme Court judge, Justice S. Ravindra Bhat, to examine and respond to the mental health challenges faced by students in higher education institutions.

Taking cognisance of the IIT Kharagpur case, the court sought to verify whether the institute's administration had registered an FIR, in line with its previous directives.

The court also acknowledged another tragic case involving a NEET aspirant who died by suicide in Kota’s Parshavanath area, just days before the May 11 entrance exam. The girl, reportedly under 18, was from Sheopur, Madhya Pradesh, and had been living in Kota with her parents while preparing for NEET-UG at a coaching centre.

The bench noted this incident marked the 14th student suicide reported in Kota this year. "A total of 17 coaching student suicides were reported in Kota in 2024 alone. We wish to know whether an FIR has been lodged in this recent case as well," the court said.

The matter has been scheduled for further hearing on May 13.

Previously, on March 24, the Supreme Court had directed Delhi Police to file an FIR and conduct an investigation into the suicides of two SC/ST students at IIT Delhi, highlighting a growing pattern of student suicides across educational institutions.

Calling the trend a “serious issue,” the court emphasized the need for urgent action and the formulation of comprehensive guidelines to tackle the root causes of such distress.

It also instructed the Centre to deposit ₹20 lakh with the Supreme Court registry within two weeks as seed funding for the National Task Force’s initial operations.

Reiterating the urgency of the issue, the court stated that these recurring tragedies pointed to the need for a robust, responsive, and comprehensive mechanism to address the psychological and systemic pressures that lead students to take such drastic steps.