17 May, 2007 NEW DELHI : -
Ragging could well become a crime of the past. In the strictest measures yet to curb the menace, the Supreme Court on Wednesday warned senior students that if they harass freshers physically or mentally, they would be booked by the police, expelled from college and denied future admissions. Among a slew of directions issued by the court to stamp out ragging, many were aimed at making educational institutions directly responsible for acting against the culprits. These included mandatory registration of FIRs by the institutions whenever a ragging incident comes to light. The punishment "should be exemplary and justifiably harsh to stop recurrence of the ugly incidents", said a Bench comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat and S H Kapadia. More anti-ragging measures would be considered in September, the court said. Its interim directions were based on the recommendations of a committee headed by former CBI director R K Raghavan, who was tasked with finding ways and means to stop ragging in educational institutions. First and foremost, the court took into account the general tendency among institutions to sweep ragging incidents under the carpet in the fear that it would damage its reputation, an act which often emboldens the perpetrators to hunt for fresh prey among freshers. Directing all institutions to set up anti-ragging squads, the Bench said though the victim and his parents were free to approach police to lodge a report against the erring seniors, it was obligatory on the part of the educational institutions to lodge FIRs on ragging incidents without delay. "Failure or delay on the part of the college authorities or management to report the ragging incident to police would make them liable for culpable negligence," the Bench said, indicating that they could also be prosecuted for negligence to bring the guilty to book. Non-reporting of ragging incidents to police could also make an institution liable for reduction in government grants, it said. The court made it clear that the police should make prompt investigations and chargesheet the accused while the courts should fast-track the trial in ragging cases, thus plugging the loophole in the justice delivery system which many exploit to delay trials.
