The Supreme Court on Monday (October 27) directed all states and Union Territories to inform it within eight weeks about the steps taken to implement its guidelines on addressing mental health issues and student suicides in educational institutions.
A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta also granted the Centre the same eight-week period to file a detailed compliance affidavit outlining the measures undertaken so far.
The direction came during the hearing of a matter concerning compliance with the apex court’s July 25 judgment, in which it had issued a set of 15 binding guidelines to tackle the growing mental health crisis among students.
In that ruling, the court had observed that India suffers from a “legislative and regulatory vacuum” on student suicide prevention and mental health support in schools, colleges, and coaching centres. To fill this gap, it had mandated a uniform framework until formal laws or regulations are enacted.
The Bench had also ordered that all states and UTs, “as far as practicable,” must notify rules within two months to ensure mandatory registration, student protection norms, and grievance redressal mechanisms for private coaching centres.
On Monday, the court directed that all states and Union Territories be made respondents in the matter so that their individual compliance reports could be examined. The case will now be heard again in January 2026.
The Bench was informed that under the July judgment, the Centre was required to submit its own compliance affidavit within 90 days.
In its July verdict, the Supreme Court had underscored that every educational institution must adopt a uniform mental health policy inspired by the Education Ministry’s Ummeed guidelines, the Manodarpan initiative, and the National Suicide Prevention Strategy.
The Bench directed that such policies should be reviewed and updated annually and made publicly accessible on institutional websites and notice boards.
It had also noted the Centre’s earlier steps to tackle the issue — the Ummeed draft guidelines released in 2023, which emphasise understanding and empathy towards students, and Manodarpan, a nationwide initiative launched during the COVID-19 pandemic to promote student well-being.
The July ruling stemmed from an appeal challenging an Andhra Pradesh High Court order that had refused to transfer to the CBI the probe into the death of a 17-year-old NEET aspirant in Visakhapatnam. While dismissing the appeal, the Supreme Court had seized the opportunity to address the broader issue of student mental health and issued comprehensive directions for institutional reforms across India.
