Deepika Padukone shares ‘landmark' Supreme Court guidelines to protect students' mental health amid rising suicide cases
The original post is an abridged version of the landmark Supreme Court guidelines on student well-being.
On July 26, the Supreme Court called mental health a part of the basic right to life and dignity under Article 21. Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta shared 15 guidelines and criticised coaching centres for ignoring students' mental well-being.
According to the apex court, the guidelines will stay active until proper laws are made. All schools and colleges have been asked to draft a common mental health policy.
Their policy must be based on the Ummeed draft, Manodarpan scheme and the National Suicide Prevention Strategy. This policy should be reviewed every year and shared on websites and notice boards.
These steps came as the court had heard an appeal related to the death of a 17-year-old NEET student in Vishakhapatnam in 2024. The girl's father demanded a CBI probe into her death. While the Andhra Pradesh High Court dismissed the demand, the top court has now approved it.
The court asked institutions with 100 or more students to hire at least one trained counsellor, psychologist or social worker. Smaller institutions must connect with external mental health experts.
Schools and colleges must train all staff twice a year in basic mental health care with help from professionals. They must learn how to treat students from weaker or marginalised groups with care and without bias.
Institutions must set up safe and private ways for students to report bullying, harassment, ragging or abuse of any kind. Parents must also be made aware of mental health through regular sessions.
Schools must keep anonymous records and submit yearly reports on their mental health work. They must focus more on sports, arts and personality-building activities.
Exams should be planned better so that students don't feel too much pressure. The aim is to help students grow in every way, not just through marks.
"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," the bench said.
Deepika Padukone started TLLLF in 2015 after facing anxiety and depression herself. The foundation works to spread awareness about mental health in India. It tries to remove shame linked to mental illness and offers helpful resources.
The foundation runs programs that talk about issues like stress, anxiety and depression. TLLLF also works with other groups to reach more people and spread mental health awareness widely.
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