The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed all schools in Haryana to strictly implement existing guidelines on student suicide prevention, school safety and mental health, while ensuring that complaints of bullying and harassment based on gender, gender identity and sexual orientation are expressly covered by their internal grievance mechanisms.
Justice Manisha Batra, in an order dated October 31, instructed the Department of School Education to ensure compliance with the Supreme Court’s 2025 guidelines on preventing student suicides and the 2021 guidelines concerning school safety and security.
The Court emphasised that schools must promptly and confidentially address complaints of bullying and harassment. Where a complaint discloses a cognisable offence, the matter must be reported to the police in accordance with law.
The directions came in a petition filed by a mother whose son died by suicide in February 2022 after allegedly enduring prolonged bullying, sexual abuse and harassment at school.
Implementation of Existing Safeguards Is Essential
The High Court observed that the existence of guidelines alone was insufficient unless educational institutions implemented them effectively.
Referring to a 2015 CBSE circular that remained applicable throughout the period of alleged harassment, the Court noted that the central concern was whether schools had actually enforced the available safeguards.
The Court also considered existing measures, including CBSE circulars addressing bullying and ragging, school safety guidelines, the NCERT training module issued in May 2025 and the Manodarpan initiative.
It further referred to the Supreme Court’s 2025 guidelines addressing discrimination against LGBTQIA+ students, which were to operate as law until appropriate legislation was enacted. The High Court noted that these directions were binding on educational institutions throughout India and addressed the concerns raised in the petition.
Mother Alleged Prolonged Bullying and School Inaction
According to the petition, the mother was a single parent employed as an art teacher at the school where her son studied from Class 2 to Class 10.
She alleged that the child faced physical bullying, sexual assault and humiliating remarks from a group of students beginning in Class 6. He was also allegedly targeted through fake social media accounts.
The mother stated that these experiences led to anxiety and panic attacks requiring treatment at several hospitals. In September 2021, a doctor certified that the child had developed Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder due to bullying and sexual abuse. He had also been diagnosed with Dyslexia.
On September 23, 2021, the mother emailed the school principal identifying students allegedly responsible for the abuse and harassment. She claimed that the school failed to take effective measures.
According to her, the principal responded more than a month later, stating that the principal students named in the complaint had already left the institution and that there was insufficient evidence to proceed against the others.
The petition also raised concerns about the treatment of the child during his Class 10 Board examinations. The mother alleged that he was denied a scribe in his first examination despite his condition.
She further claimed that during the Science examination, the headmistress pressured him to attempt numerical questions and dismissed his mental health difficulties, accusing him and his mother of taking undue advantage of his condition.
The child died by suicide on February 24, 2022. According to the petition, his suicide note blamed the school and specifically named the headmistress and senior school authorities.
Criminal Investigation and Subsequent High Court Petition
Following the child’s death, police registered an FIR alleging abetment of suicide. The headmistress was arrested and subsequently granted bail by the trial court.
A Special Investigation Team was constituted on March 5, 2022. During the investigation, offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act were added.
The investigation also primarily disclosed an alleged offence against the principal for failing to report or record information concerning child sexual abuse. The allegation arose because she had handled the mother’s earlier complaint without informing the police.
In October 2022, the mother approached the High Court, alleging that the investigation was casual and biased. She also sought measures to protect LGBTQIA+ students from harassment and discrimination, highlighting the alleged lack of adequate sensitisation among teachers, counsellors and students.
She requested judicial monitoring of the investigation and the formulation of guidelines to prevent similar incidents.
High Court Declines Investigation Monitoring and Nationwide Policy Directions
The High Court declined to order monitoring of the criminal investigation, noting that the investigating agency had already completed its work and submitted its final report before the trial court in December 2022.
It held that the mother could pursue her remaining grievances before the trial court.
On the request for fresh guidelines concerning LGBTQIA+ students, the Court observed that framing a policy applicable to educational institutions across the country was beyond the scope of the proceedings. It considered the mother’s specific proposals to be matters of educational policy.
However, recognising the importance of implementing existing protections, the Court directed the Haryana School Education Department to ensure that schools comply with the applicable Supreme Court directions and school safety guidelines.
The Court specifically required every school’s internal committee and complaint-handling mechanism to address bullying and harassment linked to gender, gender identity and sexual orientation, with prompt, confidential handling and mandatory police reporting wherever a cognisable offence is disclosed.
