Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud voiced his worry on Saturday, February 25, regarding reports of student suicides. He expressed his sympathies towards the families of the victims and questioned why educational institutions are pressuring students to take their own lives. He emphasized that the prevalence of such incidents is especially concerning among marginalized communities, citing the recent alleged suicide of a Dalit student at IIT Bombay, as per a report by PTI.
The Chief Justice of India (CJI) stated during his convocation speech at The National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR) in Hyderabad that judges in India play a critical role in engaging with society both inside and outside of courtrooms to promote social change. "Only recently I read about the suicide of a Dalit student at IIT Bombay. It reminded me of the suicide of an Adivasi student at National Law University in Odisha last year. My heart goes out to the family members of these students. But I also have been wondering where our institutions are going wrong, that the students are forced to give up their precious life," the CJI said.
Darshan Solanki, a first-year student hailing from Gujarat, allegedly died by suicide on February 12 at IIT Bombay. "In these instances, incidents of suicides from marginalised communities are becoming common. These numbers are not just statistics. They are stories sometimes of centuries of struggle. I believe that if we wish to address this issue the first step is to acknowledge and recognise the problem," Justice Chandrachud said.
He claimed that while he has been emphasising the importance of students' mental health, he has also been focusing on the mental health of lawyers. He added that academic leaders must be sensitive to students' concerns in addition to teaching students compassion as part of the curriculum. "I think the issue of discrimination is directly linked to the lack of empathy in educational institutions," Justice Chandrachud added, stated the PTI report.
As the Chief Justice of India, apart from judicial and administrative work, his effort is also to throw light on the structural issues which confront society. "Therefore, promoting empathy must be the first step which education institutions ought to take," he said.
