MP High Court To Hear Next Week PIL On 'Alarming' Rise In Suicides At State's Medical Colleges

The Madhya Pradesh High Court will hear on July 28 a public interest litigation (PIL) highlighting the "alarming trend" of high suicide rate in medical colleges across the state. Noting that the petitioner's advocate appeared via video conferencing, the division bench of Chief Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Vinay Saraf on Wednesday (July 23) listed the matter for hearing on Monday, when he is expected to appear in person.According to the petitioner, Krishna Kumar Bhargava who is stated to be a social worker, these three states–Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu- together accounted for nearly 1/3rd of the country's total suicide count. The plea refers to data from 'Students Suicide: An Epidemic Sweeping India, Volume 2' report published by the IC3 Institute. The plea claims that gender-wise, male student suicides are higher than female student suicide counts. It states that male student suicides increased 50% while female student suicides increased by 61% over the last 10 years.Citing the UNICEF report titled 'The State of the World's Children', the petition underscored the broader mental health crisis among the youth. The report stated that one in seven young individuals between the ages of 15-24 in India experienced poor mental health. Alarmingly, only 41% of those surveyed acknowledged the need to seek support for mental health challenges, indicating substantial stigma and lack of awareness surrounding mental health issues. The petition drew attention to Madhya Pradesh's private medical colleges, where the petitioner alleged a disturbing trend of camouflaging student suicide as natural deaths. The plea alleges that due to non-action, omission and commission of the respondents the situation has worsened, claiming that most "Private Medical Colleges camouflage the death as a natural death". It claims that "parents do not show the courage to bring the matter to the authorities concerned", alleging that either they are threatened by private medical colleges or there are reasons which are difficult to understand but easy to infer. According to the petitioner, private medical institutions often discouraged families from reporting such cases, and in several instances, exerted pressure to suppress information. This culture of silence not only obstructed justice but also perpetuated an environment of neglect and fear. It states that the parliamentary debates in 2024, specifically those referencing medical colleges in Madhya Pradesh, highlighted these concerns. It states that a National Commission Task Force had acknowledged Madhya Pradesh's concerning suicide trends, identifying it as the third-highest state in terms of student suicide rates. The petition also referred to the task force created by the National Medical Commission to discuss about the rising suicide rates. Per the petition, 'the report of the National Task Force highlight the fact that Madhya Pradesh is Number-3 State where suicide rate is increasing every year'. The plea seeks a direction to the State authorities to improve the working condition and the environment in the Medical Colleges and also other Colleges both Private and Government in the State. It further seeks a high-level enquiry be conducted regarding suicide committed by the students in the last 10 years in the various colleges in the State.Case Title: Krishna Kumar Bhargava v State of M.P (WP - 26049/2025)Counsel for Petitioner: Senior Advocate Aditya Sanghi

MP High Court To Hear Next Week PIL On 'Alarming' Rise In Suicides At State's Medical Colleges

Jayanti Pahwa

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