The Supreme Court on Friday questioned the Rajasthan government over the rising number of cases of students dying by suicide in Kota, calling the situation serious, PTI reported.

At least 14 cases have been reported so far this year, the state’s counsel told the court.

The court questioned why the deaths had taken place. The bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan noted that the Supreme Court-appointed task force would need time to submit a full report.

“What are you doing as a state?” Pardiwala asked. “Why are these children dying by suicide and only in Kota? Have you not given it a thought as a state?”

The counsel for Rajasthan said that a special investigation team had been set up to investigate the cases.

Kota is home to scores of coaching classes for engineering, medical and civil services exams that attract lakhs of students every year.

The bench also mentioned the case of a National Entrance Eligibility Test aspirant found dead at home in Kota, and accused the state of contempt for failing to file a first information report, PTI reported.

The court said that despite the student residing with her parents since November 2024, instead of the institute’s accommodation, the police were obligated to file the case.

“It was the duty of the police concerned to register the FIR and carry out the investigation,” the court was quoted as saying by the news agency. “The officer in-charge of the concerned territorial police station has failed in his duty. He has not complied with the directions issued by this court.”

The Supreme Court was hearing a case about the death of a 22-year-old student at the Indian Institute of Technology in West Bengal’s Kharagpur on May 4.

Besides criticising the government about the rising cases of suicide in Rajasthan, the court also criticised the police in West Bengal for a four-day delay in filing a first information report in the IIT case.

The court was informed that IIT had alerted the police after discovering the alleged death by suicide, but it found the explanations from the institute’s counsel and the police unconvincing.

The bench cautioned the authorities that it could have taken strict action, including initiating contempt proceedings against the officer in charge of the matter, but chose not to, given that a case had been lodged and a probe was underway.

On May 6, the Supreme Court bench had directed the police in Rajasthan and West Bengal to report whether FIRs had been filed in both cases, the Hindustan Times reported.

Also read: Why do students flock to Kota for coaching year after year despite its contested reputation?