Discrimination At Educational Institutions Is A "Very Serious Issue," According To The Supreme Court

The Supreme Court asked the University Grants Commission (UGC) on Thursday to specify the steps it has taken and plans to take to provide a non-discriminatory, enabling environment for students from Scheduled Castes and Schedule Tribes in institutions of higher learning, calling it a "very serious issue."

A panel of Justices AS Bopanna and MM Sundresh requested the UGC to provide details on efforts taken in response to a petition filed by the mothers of Rohith Vemula and Payal Tadvi, who reportedly committed suicide as a result of alleged caste prejudice in their educational institutions.

While Mr Vemula, a Dalit PhD scholar at Hyderabad Central University, committed suicide on January 17, 2016, Ms Tadvi, a tribal student at TN Topiwala National Medical College in Mumbai, committed suicide on May 22, 2019, in response to alleged caste discrimination by three doctors at her institution.

Senior advocate Indira Jaising, who represented Mr Vemula and Ms Tadvi's mothers, stated that they had lost their son and daughter, respectively, and that three more students studying at a National Law School, a medical college, and the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay had committed suicide in the previous year.

It has also requested that all universities take strong disciplinary action against students or staff who file complaints alleging caste-based discrimination, as well as take necessary interim reliefs to prevent the HEI from creating a hostile environment against students who file such complaints. Aside from these directives, the petition has requested a number of actions to put an end to caste-based discrimination on college campuses.