All Educational Institutions Shall Adopt & Implement Uniform Mental Health Policy: Supreme Court Issues Guidelines

The Supreme Court has issued certain guidelines while transferring a case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), involving the alleged suicidal death of a 17-year-old female student at hostel in Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, who was preparing for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) examination.

A Criminal Appeal was preferred by the father of the deceased student, challenging the Judgment of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, which rejected his prayer seeking transfer of investigation to the CBI.

The two-Judge Bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta issued the following guidelines –

I. All educational institutions shall adopt and implement a uniform mental health policy, drawing cues from the UMMEED Draft Guidelines, the MANODARPAN initiative, and the National Suicide Prevention Strategy.

II. All educational institutions with 100 or more enrolled students shall appoint/engage at least one qualified counsellor, psychologist, or social worker with demonstrable training in child and adolescent mental health. Institutions with fewer students shall establish formal referral linkages with external mental health professionals.

III. All educational institutions shall ensure optimal student-to-counsellor ratios. Dedicated mentors or counsellors shall be assigned to smaller batches of students, especially during examination periods and academic transitions, to provide consistent, informal, and confidential support.

IV. All educational institutions, more particularly the coaching institutes/centres, shall, as far as possible, refrain from engaging in batch segregation based on academic performance, public shaming, or assignment of academic targets disproportionate capacities.

V. All educational institutions shall establish written protocols for immediate referral to mental health services, local hospitals, and suicide prevention helplines. Suicide helpline numbers, including Tele-MANAS and other national services, shall be prominently displayed in hostels, classrooms, common areas, and on websites in large and legible print.

VI. All teaching and non-teaching staff shall undergo mandatory training at least twice a year, conducted by certified mental health professionals, on psychological first-aid, identification of warning signs, response to self-harm, and referral mechanisms.

VII. All educational institutions shall ensure that all teaching, non-teaching, and administrative staff are adequately trained to engage with students from vulnerable and marginalised backgrounds in a sensitive, inclusive, and non-discriminatory manner.

VIII. All educational institutions shall establish robust, confidential, and accessible mechanisms for the reporting, redressal, and prevention of incidents involving sexual assault, harassment, ragging, and bullying on the basis of caste, class, gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion, or ethnicity.

IX. All educational Institutions shall regularly organise sensitisation programmes (physical and/or online) for parents and guardians on student mental health.

X. All educational institutions shall maintain anonymised records and prepare an annual report indicating the number of wellness interventions, student referrals, training sessions, and mental health-related activities.

XI. All educational institutions shall prioritise extracurricular activities, including sports, arts, and personality development initiatives.

XII. All educational institutions, including coaching centres and training institutes, shall provide regular, structured career counselling services for students and their parents or guardians.

XIII. All residential-based educational institutions, including hostel owners, wardens and caretakers, shall take proactive steps to ensure that campuses remain free from harassment, bullying, drugs, and other harmful substances, thereby ensuring a safe and healthy living and learning environment for all students.

XIV. All residential-based institutions shall install tamper-proof ceiling fans or equivalent safety devices, and shall restrict access to rooftops, balconies, and other high-risk areas, in order to deter impulsive acts of self-harm.

XV. All coaching hubs, including but not limited to Jaipur, Kota, Sikar, Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi, Mumbai, and other cities where students migrate in large numbers for competitive examination preparation, shall implement heightened mental health protections and preventive measures.

Advocate Joydeb B. Saha represented the Appellant while ASG Rajkumar Bhaskar Thakare represented the Respondents.

Court’s Observations

The Supreme Court in the above regard, observed, “The above guidelines shall apply to all educational institutions across India, including public and private schools, colleges, universities, training centres, coaching institutes, residential academies, and hostels, irrespective of their affiliation.”

The Court clarified that these guidelines are not in supersession but in parallel to the ongoing work of the National Task Force on Mental Health Concerns of Students and are being issued to provide an interim protective architecture in the interregnum.

“We believe that these guidelines shall be read as complementary to the ongoing work of the National Task Force and would inform and assist the National Task Force in the development of a more comprehensive and inclusive framework”, it added.

Directions

Furthermore, the Court directed that all States and Union Territories shall, as far as practicable, notify rules within two months from the date of the Judgment mandating registration, student protection norms, and grievance redressal mechanisms for all private coaching centres and these rules shall require compliance with the mental health safeguards prescribed herein.

“A district-level monitoring committee shall be constituted in each district under the chairpersonship of the District Magistrate or Collector. The committee may include representatives from the departments of education, health, and Child protection, civil society and shall oversee implementation, conduct inspections, and receive complaints”, it ordered.

The Court also directed the Union of India to file a compliance affidavit within a period of 90 days, which shall detail the steps taken to implement these guidelines, the coordination mechanisms established with State Governments, the status of regulatory rulemaking with respect to coaching centres, and the monitoring systems put in place.

“The affidavit shall also indicate the expected timeline for the completion of the report and recommendations of the National Task Force on Mental Health Concerns of Students”, it further said.

The Court also ordered that a copy of the Judgment shall be circulated to the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Law and Justice, University Grants Commission, National Council of Educational Research and Training, Central Board of Secondary Education, All India Council for Technical Education, and the Chief Secretaries of all States and Union Territories for immediate compliance and necessary action.

Conclusion

The Court, therefore, directed that the investigation into the unnatural death of the Appellant’s daughter shall be transferred to the CBI forthwith and the Investigating Officer and concerned authorities shall hand over the entire case records, including all relevant papers, documents, CCTV footage, forensic reports, and any material evidence, to the office of Director, CBI without undue delay.

“The Director, CBI, shall ensure the immediate registration of an RC and assign the investigation of the same to a team of competent officials under the supervision of the jurisdictional Superintendent, CBI. … The concerned officials of CBI shall conduct an extensive and comprehensive investigation into the matter and, upon conclusion, submit a report under Section 193(2) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 202323, before the competent Court having jurisdiction, within four months from the date of receiving the record”, it concluded.

Accordingly, the Apex Court disposed of the Appeal, transferred the case to the CBI, and issued necessary guidelines and directions.

Cause Title- Sukdeb Saha v. The State of Andhra Pradesh & Ors. (Neutral Citation: 2025 INSC 893)

Click here to read/download the Judgment