Most students who die by suicide belong to Dalit and Adivasi communities, says DY Chandrachud
The chief justice also said that judges cannot shy away from social realities.
Chief Justice DY Chandrachud on Saturday said that most students who die by suicide are from Dalit and Adivasi communities, Bar and Bench reported.
“Incidents of suicides from marginalised communities are becoming common,” Chief Justice Chandrachud said, according to PTI. “These numbers are not just statistics. They are stories sometimes of centuries of struggle.”
Justice Chandrachud was addressing the convocation ceremony at the National Academy of Legal Studies and Research University of Law in Hyderabad.
CJI: Incidents of suicides among students from marginalised sections are increasing, these are not just mere statistics but these are stories of centuries of struggle, if you wish to address this issue you have to recognize and address the problem #CJIDYChandrachud
— Bar & Bench (@barandbench) February 25, 2023
Referring to the recent death of an 18-year-old Dalit student at the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay earlier this month, Chief Justice Chandrachud said that he wonders where our institutions are going wrong, forcing students to take such steps.
The student, Darshan Solanki, died on February 12. His family claim that he had faced discrimination on account of his caste.
“It shows a pattern which we must question,” Chief Justice Chandrachud said, according to Bar and Bench. “In 75 years we have focused on creating institutions of eminence but more than that we need to create institutions of empathy.”
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In Saturday’s address, the chief justice also pointed out that the judges cannot shy away from social realities and cited the example of how nine judges of the Supreme Court of the United States had released a statement after the Black Lives Matter racial equality movement gained momentum.
“Similarly judges in India need to have a dialogue with the society inside and outside the courtroom,” he said, according to Bar and Bench.
He also advised educational institutes to stop certain practices such as publishing the list of marks obtained by students along with social categories.
“Not acting on incidents of abuse and bullying, not providing a support system, ending fellowships, normalising stereotypes through jokes, are some of the basic things which every educational institution must stop,” the chief justice advised.