Student suicide cases: Orissa High Court rejects KIIT University’s plea to quash show-cause notice

The Orissa High Court has dealt a significant setback to KIIT University in connection with repeated student suicide cases on its campus in Bhubaneswar. The court has clearly refused to quash the show-cause notice previously issued by the Higher Education Department, allowing the matter to proceed further.

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Observing that student suicides are a serious and sensitive issue, the High Court has directed the State government to seek detailed compliance reports from all government and private universities in Odisha.

The court made it clear that KIIT, along with every other university in the State, must submit reports explaining what concrete steps have been taken to prevent such incidents on campuses.

As per the order passed by Justice Sanjeeb Kumar Panigrahi on the 12th of this month, the show-cause notice issued to KIIT on September 9 highlighted six major lapses. These include a lack of adequate grievance redressal mechanisms for students, insufficient counselling facilities for those under mental stress, a shortage of hostel infrastructure, improper handling of issues faced by international students, and allegations of excessive force by security personnel.

The notice had also sought clarification on accountability for these lapses and measures taken to prevent recurrence. KIIT had approached the High Court challenging the notice and seeking dismissal of the case, but the plea was rejected.

However, noting that KIIT has already submitted a compliance report, the court directed that no coercive action be taken for now. The next hearing in the matter is scheduled for February 24.

Education experts have stressed that while institutions are responsible for students’ mental and physical well-being, it is equally the government’s duty to ensure strict enforcement. With three student deaths reported at KIIT within a year, the focus now remains on the nature and effectiveness of the compliance report submitted to the State government.

“State government accords permission; hence, it is the Government’s lookout to monitor such educational institutions. Besides, the institutions get huge grants from outside, along with financial assistance from the government for providing accommodation and study facilities to students. In case any of the educational institutions deviate from the prescribed norms, their affiliations should be cancelled,” noted educationist, R.N. Panda, said.