India, May 23 -- The Supreme Court on Friday strongly criticized the Rajasthan government over the alarming rise in student suicides in Kota, asking pointedly, "Why are these children dying by suicide-and why only in Kota?" A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan, hearing multiple cases including the deaths of a 22-year-old IIT Kharagpur student and a NEET aspirant in Kota, said the situation was "serious" and questioned the state's apparent indifference.

The court was informed that 14 student suicides had already been reported from Kota in 2024 alone. When asked what the government was doing, the state's counsel claimed a special investigation team (SIT) had been constituted to look into the cases. However, the bench was far f...