Dalit scholar suicide: Govt notifies setting up of judicial commission

The HRD Ministry on Tuesday issued a notification appointing Justice (retd) Ashok Kumar Roopanwal as a one-man judicial commission to look into the alleged suicide by Dalit research scholar Rohith Vemula in Hyderabad Central University.

As per the notification, the Commission would enquire into the facts and circumstances leading to the death of Vemula and fix responsibility for lapses, if any. It will also review the existing grievance redressal mechanism for students at the university and suggest improvements.

Vemula's suicide on January 17 had triggered a massive outrage and opposition parties had launched a scathing attack on the government over the matter. Following the uproar, the Ministry had set up a Fact Finding Committee to inquire into the circumstances leading to the death of the research scholar.

After the Fact Finding committee submitted its report, the Ministry decided to set up the judicial commission to look into the matter. The Commission shall carry out its inquiry and submit its report and recommendations to the central government within three months, the notification said.