Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Wednesday pointed out that the state lacks a mechanism for preventing ragging in educational institutions. The court orally observed that the state government must frame rules under the Kerala Prohibition of Ragging Act, 1998, to tackle the menace of ragging effectively.  

The special bench comprising Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice C Jayachandran made the remark while considering a petition filed by the Kerala Legal Service Authorities (KeLSA). 

The court observed that the state only had a brief legislation of nine sections to address ragging, which is a major crime in the campuses. 

“The University of Grants Commission (UGC) has issued detailed guidelines to curb ragging in colleges after the state government passed the Kerala Prohibition of Ragging Act. Hence, the state must look into the need to introduce changes to the existing law as per the UGC guidelines,” said the court. 

Thecourt said that state can consider constituting a working group from different disciplines and invite suggestions from public for the purpose of formulating rules. The court added that the working group should also look into whether the existing State legislation needs to be amended.

KeLSA’s counsel submitted that the High Court, in its judgment in Berin P. Varghese vs State of Kerala (2008), noted that the offences in the Act are non-cognizable and bailable and highlighted the need to strengthen the provisions.

“Once there is brutality and violence in ragging, it does not remain the concern of individual student or the institution but has the effect of shocking the conscience of the society. Therefore, the state has a major role in ensuring that there is a robust prevention mechanism,” said the division bench.

During the hearing, the HC asked the state government whether it had constituted District Anti-Ragging Committees and a State-Level Monitoring Cell as per the UGC regulation. It also directed the government to furnish details about the committees' roles and activities.

The court said that if the committees have not been constituted yet, the state has to provide a timeline within which they will be constituted. The court said that if the timeline fixed by the state is not satisfactory, it will set the timeline itself. The court also directed the state to get information from the universities about whether committees are set up at the institute level as contemplated under the UGC Regulations.

The court will consider the case again on March 19.
(with Live Law inputs)