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The Supreme Court criticized the lack of institutional action against caste-based discrimination in higher education among IITs, IIM suicides.
SC IIT, IIM suicides promises extremely unfortunate, ‘strong preventive system.
The Supreme Court on Friday called the incidents of suicides in IITs and IIMs “very unfortunate” and assured that a strong mechanism would be placed to address the issue. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N. Kotiswar Singh was informed by senior advocate Inder Inder that 18 students died in Indian institutions for Indian institutions (IITS).
“It’s very unfortunate what is happening. We will create a strong mechanism to examine this condition. We will take the issue to its logical conclusion, “the bench said.
Jaising, Rohith Vemula and Payal Tadvi-who allegedly died of suicide after facing caste-based discrimination, representing the mothers of students, said universities and colleges did not provide full data on campus suicides despite court order.
Vemula, PhD scholar of Hyderabad Central University, died on January 17, 2016, while Tadvi, a student of TN Topiwala National Medical College, died on May 22, 2019 due to discrimination by three senior doctors.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Center, informed the court that the University Grants Commission (UGC) had prepared the draft rules while addressing most of the concerns raised by the petitioners. These draft rules were uploaded on the UGC website for public suggestions and objections.
ZIzing reported that 40% universities and 80% of colleges had yet to install equal opportunity cells on their premises.
The bench directed the UGC to review the suggestions submitted on the draft rules and asked Jaising and other petitioners to provide their inputs.
Jaising requested an oral hearing before finalizing the rules, but Mehta opposed it, arguing that permission to allow personal hearing would be an example where everyone will make equal demand.
“If they want to make any suggestions, they can do this through the website, but individual hearing cannot be allowed,” Mehta presented.
The bench acknowledged the importance of the issue raised by the petitioners and assured that the court would see it through its logical conclusion. The case has been posted for hearing after eight weeks.
On 3 January, the court called the case sensitive and expressed the intention to create an effective mechanism to combat caste-based discrimination in educational institutions. This directed the UGC to inform the draft rules to ensure that there was no such discrimination in the middle, state, private and deemed universities. It also sought data on how many institutions had established equal opportunity cells in compliance of 2012 in compliance with UGC (promotion of equity in the rules of higher educational institutions).
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The petitioners claimed that since 2004, more than 50 students had died of suicide in IITs and other institutions due to caste-based discrimination from SC/ST background.
In 2019, the Supreme Court issued a notice on the PIL, demanding enforcement of fundamental rights, including the right to equality, the right to ban discrimination on the basis of caste and the right to life.
The “large-scale circulation” of caste-based discrimination in higher education institutions was accused and demanded strict enforcement of the 2012 UGC rules. It called for the installation of equal opportunity cells on the complexes, modeling after the existing discrimination mechanisms, which is with the representation of SC/ST communities, NGOs, and social field representatives.
Additionally, the petition urged universities to take strict disciplinary action against the caste-based victims of students or employees and to take strict disciplinary action to protect the students from enmity in the premises.
(With input from PTI)
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