Ragging is a punishable offence.
Ragging is a punishable offence. Indulging in any form of ragging may lead to imprisonment or rustication. Ragging is prohibited as per the decision of the Supreme Court of India in writ petition no. (C) 656/1998. We have maintained strong administration across our campuses, including hostels, to prevent any student from being a victim of ragging. Our anti-disciplinary team is hyper-active and makes sure that law and order is maintained without fail when it comes to ragging incidents.
Ragging is defined as any disorderly conduct, whether by words spoken or written or by an act, that has the effect of teasing, treating, or handling with rudeness a fresher or a junior student; indulging in a rowdy or undisciplined activity that causes or is likely to cause annoyance, hardship, or psychological harm, or to raise fear or apprehension thereof in a fresher or junior student; or asking students to do any act or perform something that such students will not do in the ordinary course and which has the effect of causing or generating a sense of shame or embarrassment.
Anti Ragging Act
In view of the increasing incidents of ragging in colleges and elsewhere that reached proportions unbecoming of a civilised society, the Hon’ble Supreme Court admitted and heard the SLP No(s) 24295 of 2006, University of Kerala vs Council, Principals’, Colleges, Kerala & Ors (with SLP(C) No. 24296-99/2004 & W.P. (Crl) No. 173/2006 and SLP(C) No. 14356/2005).
Pursuant to an order of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India dated November 27, 2006, the Ministry of Human Resource Development constituted a Committee under the Chairmanship of Shri R.K. Raghavan (former Director, CBI) to look into the issue of ragging and suggest means of prevention of ragging in educational institutions.
The Committee primarily examined the following broad aspects of ragging:
- Means and methods of prevention of ragging.
- Possible action that can be taken against persons indulging in ragging.
- Possible action that can be taken against college/university authorities in the event of ragging.
The Committee carried out a very detailed study with the help of voluntary organisations including CURE (Coalition for Uprooting Ragging from Education) and SPACE (Society for Peoples Action Change and Enforcement) and collected voluminous public opinion on the various factors contributing to ragging. Noted psychologists and educationists assisted the committee. A questionnaire elicited over 12,500 responses. The recommendations of the Committee were accepted and directives were issued to all educational institutions by the Hon’ble Supreme Court on 16 May 2007.
I. Factors to focus on to tackle the problem
- Primary responsibility for curbing ragging rests with academic institutions themselves.
- Ragging adversely impacts the standards of higher education.
- Incentives should be available to institutions for curbing the menace and there should be disincentives for failure to do so.
- Enrolment in academic pursuits or a campus life should not immunise any adult citizen from penal provisions of the laws of the land.
- Ragging needs to be perceived as failure to inculcate human values from the schooling stage.
- Behavioural patterns among students, particularly potential ‘raggers’, need to be identified.
- Measures against ragging must deter its recurrence.
- Concerted action is required at the level of the school, higher educational institution, district administration, university, State and Central Governments to make any curb effective.
- Media and the Civil Society should be involved in this exercise.
II. Recommendations to be implemented without further lapse of time
- The punishment to be meted out has to be exemplary and justifiably harsh to act as a deterrent against recurrence of such incidents.
- In every single incident of ragging where the victim or his parent/guardian or the Head of institution is not satisfied with the institutional arrangement for action, a First Information Report (FIR) must be filed without exception by the institutional authorities with the local police authorities. Any failure, negligence or deliberate delay in lodging the FIR shall be construed to be an act of culpable negligence on the part of the institutional authority.
- Courts should make an effort to ensure that cases involving ragging are taken up on a priority basis.
- The possibility of introducing a subject relating to ragging in the educational curriculum shall be explored by NCERT and the respective SCERTs, for example within “Human Rights”.
- The admission prospectus shall clearly stipulate that if an applicant is found to have indulged in ragging in the past, or is later noticed to have indulged in ragging, admission may be refused or the student shall be expelled.
- The Central and State Governments shall launch a programme giving wide publicity to the menace of ragging and its consequences.
- It shall be the collective responsibility of the authorities and functionaries of the institution to take effective steps to prevent ragging; in case of failure, action can be taken, for example denial of grant-in-aid or assistance from the State Governments.
- Anti-ragging committees and squads shall be formed forthwith by institutions to ensure the Committee’s recommendations are observed without exception.
- The Committee shall continue to monitor the functioning of the anti-ragging committees and squads and the implementation of its recommendations.
We at United University request all students, parents and guardians to go through these directives and co-operate in the implementation of the directives of the Honourable Supreme Court of India. It is hoped that this will signal an end to the menace of ragging. Strict action shall be taken in accordance with the directives in case any student is found to indulge in ragging.
Various types of ragging
Academic
Any act that prevents, disrupts or disturbs the regular academic activity of a student, including exploiting the services of a junior student for completing academic tasks assigned to seniors.
Economic
Any act of financial extortion or forceful expenditure burden put on a junior student by senior students.
Criminal
Any act of physical abuse in any form — including sexual abuse, stripping, forcing obscene and lewd acts, gestures, or causing bodily harm or any other danger to health or person.
Psychological
Any act or abuse by spoken words, emails, letters, blogs or public insults, or any act that affects the mental health and self-confidence of students.
Human rights
Injury caused to the fundamental right to human dignity through humiliation heaped on junior students by seniors, often resulting in extreme steps by the victims.
Punishment provisions
Any student or group of students found guilty of ragging on campus or off campus shall be liable to one or more of the following punishments:
- Debarring from appearing in any sessional test / university examination or withholding results
- Suspension from attending classes and academic privileges
- Withdrawing scholarships and other benefits
- Suspension from the college for a period of one month
- Cancellation of admission
- Debarring from representing the institution in any national or international meet, tournament, youth festival, etc.
- Suspension / expulsion from the hostel
- Rustication from the institution for periods varying from 1 to 4 semesters or equivalent period
- Expulsion from the institution and consequent debarring from admission to any other institution
- Fine up to twenty-five thousand rupees
- Imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine which may extend to ten thousand rupees, or with both
Collective punishment: when the students committing or abetting the crime of ragging are not identified, the institution shall resort to collective punishment as a deterrent to ensure community pressure on potential raggers.