Kerala HC directs implementation of draft anti-ragging Bill modalities

The Kerala High Court directed the state government to implement the modalities proposed in the draft anti-ragging Bill until the legislation is finalised. The order came while hearing a plea seeking stricter enforcement and monitoring of ragging incidents in educational institutions

Kochi: The Kerala High Court has asked the state government to follow and implement the modalities prescribed under the draft anti-ragging Bill till the legislation is finalised. A special bench of Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice C Jayachandran issued the direction after the court was told that the draft Bill was under active consideration and it might take some time to finalise it.

“This court is of the view that, till the finalisation of the draft Bill, the modalities prescribed under the said Bill may be followed and implemented, subject to the finalisation of the said Bill by the Legislature,” the bench said.

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The direction from the court came while hearing a plea moved by the state’s legal services authority, KeLSA, last year seeking effective implementation of anti-ragging laws and the establishment of a mechanism to monitor instances of ragging.

KeLSA in its plea has said that ragging was “a deeply entrenched social menace that continues to plague educational institutions, causing severe psychological, emotional, and even physical harm to students.”

It has claimed that despite the existence of laws, regulations, and judicial directives aimed at eradicating ragging, such incidents are occurring which highlights the presence of “significant gaps in enforcement and accountability.” KeLSA in its plea has referred to the ragging incidents in a government nursing college in Kottayam district, another government college at Karyavattom in Thiruvananthapuram district and a private institute in Kozhikode district.

The legal services authority has claimed that such instances have occurred due to ineffective implementation of existing anti-ragging laws and that they can only be addressed “through a robust, structured monitoring system at both the state and district levels”.