New Delhi, March 24 -- The Supreme Court on Monday set up a National Task Force to address students' mental health concerns and prevent suicides in higher educational institutions.

A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan said the National Task Force to be headed by apex court's former judge Justice S Ravindra Bhat and noted that student suicides have surpassed instances of farmers killing themselves due to agrarian distress.

It also directed Delhi Police to register an FIR on the complaints of the family members of two students who died by suicide while studying at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, in 2023.

"The recurring instances of student suicides in higher educational institutions, including private educati...