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On March 24, 2025, the Supreme Court ordered the formation of a National Task Force to investigate the recurring incidents of student suicides in higher education institutions.
The task force will prepare a comprehensive report that includes identification of the predominant causes which lead to suicides by students. It'll also analyse the existing regulations and give recommendations for strengthening protections.
In the process of preparing its report, the task force would have the authority to conduct surprise inspections of any higher educational institution, the order said.
The task force would be at liberty to make further recommendations beyond the specified mandate, wherever necessary “to ensure a holistic and effective approach towards addressing mental health concerns of students and eliminating the incidence of suicides in higher educational institutions”. It has been asked to present an interim report within four months and the final report within eight months.
The bench comprising justices JB Pardiwala and RM Mahadevan said that the student suicides “serve as a grim reminder of the inadequacy and ineffectiveness of the existing legal and institutional framework in addressing mental health concerns of students on campuses and to prevent the students from taking the extreme step of committing suicides”.
These tragedies underscore the urgent need for a more robust, comprehensive and responsive mechanism to address the various factors which compel certain students to resort to taking their own lives, the court added.
On March 27, 2025, the eastern bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) instructed the State Level Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) in Bihar to submit its response regarding the environmental clearance (EC) given to a miner for sand mining in the Cheer river, located in Banka district.
All respondents, including the miner, have been ordered to file their counter affidavits.
Ras Mohan Thakur, the appellant, is challenging the Common Environmental Clearance issued on January 17, 2025, by SEIAA, Bihar, to Sandeep Chandak for sand mining blocks 3, 4, and 5, known as sand mining project units-II on the Cheer river in Banka district, Bihar, encompassing 67 hectares.
The appellant argues that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006, does not allow for a common EC for multiple independent sand mining blocks, as each block, even if part of a cluster, requires a separate EC. Therefore, issuing a single EC for three distinct and independent sand blocks is entirely impermissible and illegal.
It was alleged that the three sand blocks do not fall in a cluster, (they are not within 500 m of each other) and it was stated that the district survey report for district Banka categorically states that there are no mines in a cluster and even the Terms of Reference or EIA study in favour of the miner, Sandeep Chandak does not state so.
The Bihar State Pollution Control Board was directed by NGT March 27, 2025 to look into the allegations of improper waste management by Nagar Parishad Danapur Nizamat, Patna.
The SPCB was instructed to examine the location and provide a report focusing on the siting criteria, the quality of municipal waste disposal, and the current state of the area. All respondents have been requested to submit their counter affidavits.
The tribunal ordered that notices be sent to the Bihar State Pollution Control Board, Bihar Urban Development and Housing Department, Nagar Parishad Danapur Nizamat, Patna and the District Magistrate, Patna. The next hearing has been scheduled for July 2, 2025.
The applicant, Satyanand Ray, stated that Nagar Parishad Danapur Nizamat has been dumping waste near his home by creating a boundary in what is a residential area. This improper garbage disposal has led to pollution and negatively impacted the health and environmental quality of the area.
The applicant has submitted photographs that depict the poor and deplorable state of the area caused by inadequate and improper garbage management and municipal waste disposal.