NEW DELHI: The University Grants Commission (UGC) informed the Supreme Court on Friday that no suicide incidents were reported from any central, state, private, or deemed universities, as well as colleges. However, petitioners—mothers of two students who died by suicide—argued that institutions like IITs, IIMs, and national law universities (NLUs) had not provided data on such incidents.
The UGC affidavit, presented to the SC bench by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, stated that information was gathered from 45 central universities, 293 state universities, 269 private universities, 103 deemed universities, and 2,812 colleges across various states.
For petitioners Abeda Salim Tadvi and Radhika Vemula, senior advocate Indira Jaising pointed out that IITs, IIMs, and NLUs, where suicides of students have been reported, had not responded to the UGC’s request for data on suicide incidents or complaints related to caste-based discrimination.
The affidavit also mentioned that 1,503 complaints of caste-based discrimination were filed by students, of which 1,426 have been resolved. Mehta further noted that an expert committee, assigned to review the UGC regulations concerning the promotion of SC/ST/OBC/PwD and minority communities in higher education, has submitted the draft UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2025.
