Srinagar, Jan 29 (JKNS): In a significant step aimed at strengthening mental health safeguards for students, the Jammu and Kashmir Government has constituted District Level Monitoring Committees across the Union Territory to oversee implementation of mental health protection measures and prevent suicides among students.
According to the order issued by the General Administration Department and accessed by news agency JKNS, the decision has been taken in pursuance of directions passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in Criminal Appeal No. 3177 of 2025 arising out of SLP (Crl) No. 6378 of 2024, titled Sukdeb Saha versus The State of Andhra Pradesh & Others.
As per Government Order No. 117-JK (GAD) of 2026 dated January 28, 2026, each District Level Monitoring Committee will be chaired by the Deputy Commissioner and will comprise the Chief Education Officer, Chief Medical Officer, District Social Welfare Officer and one representative from civil society to be nominated by the Deputy Commissioner.
The committees have been tasked with overseeing the implementation of Supreme Court guidelines, conducting periodic inspections, and examining complaints related to mental health protection and prevention of suicides among students across all educational institutions within their respective districts.
The move follows a landmark judgment delivered by the Supreme Court on July 25, 2025, by a bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta in the Sukdeb Saha case. The apex court termed the rising incidence of student suicides a national crisis and framed 15 binding guidelines applicable to all educational institutions, coaching centres, academies and hostels across the country.
The Supreme Court also observed that the right to mental health is an integral part of the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution and highlighted systemic shortcomings, institutional failures and lack of regulatory oversight as major contributors to student distress.
Among the mandatory directions issued by the Court were the appointment of qualified counsellors in institutions with 100 or more students, registration and regulation of private coaching centres, establishment of district-level monitoring mechanisms, staff training on suicide prevention, display of helpline numbers, mental health referral protocols, parental awareness programmes and safety measures such as installation of tamper-proof ceiling fans and restriction of access to high-risk areas.
The constitution of district-level committees in Jammu and Kashmir is aimed at ensuring early intervention, accountability and coordinated action among education, health, social welfare departments and civil society to safeguard student mental well-being. —(JKNS)
