After SC Issues Guidelines, MP HC Allows Withdrawal Of PIL On Rising Suicides At Medical Colleges
Madhya Pradesh High Court
Jabalpur: The Madhya Pradesh High Court has allowed the withdrawal of a public interest litigation that sought a policy intervention by the State Government to address the "alarming trend" of suicide rates in the medical colleges across the State.
This comes after the Supreme Court issued guidelines to address the increasing instances of student suicides in India and issued interim guidelines to safeguard the mental health of students across all educational institutes, including medical colleges.
During the hearing of the PIL before the Madhya Pradesh HC, the Deputy Advocate General, appearing for the State, submitted that a detailed judgment dated 25.07.2025 issued by the Supreme Court of India in SLP (Crl) No.6378 of 2024 titled Sukdeb Saha vs. The State of Andhra Pradesh and Ors. has passed extensive directions for all Coaching Institutes, Colleges, States as well as the Authorities covering the issues raised in the PIL. Therefore, the Deputy Advocate General submitted that the said judgment of the Supreme Court squarely covered the issue raised by the petitioner.
Consequently, the learned senior counsel for the petiitoner under instructions sought leave to withdraw the petition, reserving the rights of the petitioner to raise the issue afresh in the future, if needed.
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that the PIL before the HC was filed by a social worker, Bhargava, who claimed that Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu together accounted for nearly 1/3rd of the country's total suicide count.
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Filing the plea, the petitioner has sought a direction to the State authorities to improve the working conditions and the environment in the medical colleges and also other Colleges (both private and government) across the State. Further, it also sought a high-level inquiry regarding the suicides committed by the students in the last 10 years in the various colleges in the State.
As per the latest media report by Live Law, during the hearing of the PIL, a Division bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Vinay Saraf orally remarked, "the issue you are raising is very concerning, but the Supreme Court, in this judgment, has extensively...far more than probably what we could have imagined. It covers it."
Cosequently, the counsel for the petitioner sought permission to withdraw the plea and granting the same, the HC bench observed, "In view of the above, petition is dismissed as withdrawn. All rights and contentions of the parties are reserved."
Guidelines by Supreme Court:
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that while considering the case of a 17-year-old NEET aspirant's death by suicide in Visakhapatnam, the Supreme Court on July 25 issued interim guidelines to safeguard the mental health of students across all educational institutes.
The top court bench comprising justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta took note of "a legislative and regulatory vacuum in the country with respect to a unified, enforceable framework for suicide prevention of students in educational institutions, coaching centres, and student-centric environments", and issued the interim guidelines "aimed at laying down a preventive, remedial, and supportive framework for mental health protection and prevention of suicides by students across all educational institutions."
The guidelines issued by the Apex Court are as follows:
I. All educational institutions shall adopt and implement a uniform mental health policy, drawing cues from the UMMEED Draft Guidelines, the MANODARPAN initiative, and the National Suicide Prevention Strategy. This policy shall be reviewed and updated annually and made publicly accessible on institutional websites and notice boards of the institutes.
II. All educational institutions with 100 or more enrolled students shall appoint/engage at least one qualified counsellor, psychologist, or social worker with demonstrable training in child and adolescent mental health. Institutions with fewer students shall establish formal referral linkages with external mental health professionals.
III. All educational institutions shall ensure optimal student-to-counsellor ratios. Dedicated mentors or counsellors shall be assigned to smaller batches of students, especially during examination periods and academic transitions, to provide consistent, informal, and confidential support.
IV. All educational institutions, more particularly the coaching institutes/centres, shall, as far as possible, refrain from engaging in batch segregation based on academic performance, public shaming, or assignment of academic targets disproportionate to students’ capacities.
V. All educational institutions shall establish written protocols for immediate referral to mental health services, local hospitals, and suicide prevention helplines. Suicide helpline numbers, including Tele-MANAS and other national services, shall be prominently displayed in hostels, classrooms, common areas, and on websites in large and legible print.
VI. All teaching and non-teaching staff shall undergo mandatory training at least twice a year, conducted by certified mental health professionals, on psychological first-aid, identification of warning signs, response to self-harm, and referral mechanisms.
VII. All educational institutions shall ensure that all teaching, non-teaching, and administrative staff are adequately trained to engage with students from vulnerable and marginalised backgrounds in a sensitive, inclusive, and nondiscriminatory manner. This shall include, but not be limited to, students belonging to Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Other Backward Classes (OBC), Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), LGBTQ+ communities, students with disabilities, those in out-of-home care, and students affected by bereavement, trauma, or prior suicide attempts, or intersecting form of marginalisation.
VIII. All educational institutions shall establish robust, confidential, and accessible mechanisms for the reporting, redressal, and prevention of incidents involving sexual assault, harassment, ragging, and bullying on the basis of caste, class, gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion, or ethnicity. Every such institution shall constitute an internal committee or designated authority empowered to take immediate action on complaints and provide psycho-social support to victims. Institutions shall also maintain zero tolerance for retaliatory actions against complainants or whistle-blowers. In all such cases, immediate referral to trained mental health professionals must be ensured, and the student's safety, physical and psychological, shall be prioritised. Failure to take timely or adequate action in such cases, especially where such neglect contributes to a student’s self-harm or suicide, shall be treated as institutional culpability, making the administration liable to regulatory and legal consequences.
IX. All educational Institutions shall regularly organise sensitisation programmes (physical and/or online) for parents and guardians on student mental health. It shall be the duty of the institution to sensitise the parents and guardians to avoid placing undue academic pressure, to recognise signs of psychological distress, and to respond empathetically and supportively. Further, mental health literacy, emotional regulation, life skills education, and awareness of institutional support services shall be integrated into student orientation programmes and co-curricular activities.
X. All educational institutions shall maintain anonymised records and prepare an annual report indicating the number of wellness interventions, student referrals, training sessions, and mental health-related activities. This report shall be submitted to the relevant regulatory authority, which may be the State Education Department, University Grants Commission (UGC), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), or as otherwise indicated.
XI. All educational institutions shall prioritise extracurricular activities, including sports, arts, and personality development initiatives. Examination patterns shall be periodically reviewed to reduce academic burden and to cultivate a broader sense of identity among students beyond test scores and ranks.
XII. All educational institutions, including coaching centres and training institutes, shall provide regular, structured career counselling services for students and their parents or guardians. These sessions shall be conducted by qualified counsellors and shall aim to reduce unrealistic academic pressure, promote awareness of diverse academic and professional pathways, and assist students in making informed and interest-based career decisions. Institutions shall ensure that such counselling is inclusive, sensitive to socioeconomic and psychological contexts, and does not reinforce narrow definitions of merit or success.
XIII. All residential-based educational institutions, including hostel owners, wardens and caretakers, shall take proactive steps to ensure that campuses remain free from harassment, bullying, drugs, and other harmful substances, thereby ensuring a safe and healthy living and learning environment for all students.
XIV. All residential-based institutions shall install tamper-proof ceiling fans or equivalent safety devices, and shall restrict access to rooftops, balconies, and other high-risk areas, in order to deter impulsive acts of self-harm.
XV. All coaching hubs, including but not limited to Jaipur, Kota, Sikar, Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi, Mumbai, and other cities where students migrate in large numbers for competitive examination preparation, shall implement heightened mental health protections and preventive measures. These regions, having witnessed disproportionately high incidents of student suicides, require special attention. The concerned authorities, namely, the Department of Education, District Administration, and management of educational institutions, shall ensure the provision of regular career counselling for students and parents, regulation of academic pressure through structured academic planning, availability of continuous psychological support, and the establishment of institutional mechanisms for monitoring and accountability to safeguard student mental well-being.
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court bench had ordered the constitution of a National Task Force (NTF) for mental health after taking cognisance of a disturbing pattern of student suicides being reported from various educational institutes. Accordingly, the Apex Court had ordered to set up the National Task Force to address the mental health concerns of the students.
