As per the Supreme Court judgment in Vishwa Jagriti Mission Vs Central Government and Others (2001) 6 SCC 577, ragging is cognizable criminal offence and is strictly prohibited. If any incident of ragging comes to the notice of the Collage/University, the concerned student shall be given liberty to explain and if his explanation is not found satisfactory, the College/University will expel him from the relevant programme as well as the campus. As per the Himachal Pradesh Educational Institutions (Prohibition of Ragging) Ordinance ‘2009’ “Ragging” means any act, conduct or practice by which dominant power of senior students, former students or outsiders, is brought to bear on students freshly enrolled or students who are in any way considered junior by other students and includes individual or collective act or practices which
Prohibition of Ragging
- No person shall practice ragging in any form within or outside the premises of an educational institution
- Any person who is found indulged in ragging, on conviction, be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years or with fine which may extend to fifty thousand rupees or both.
Checking and Reporting Incidents of Ragging
- The Collage/University is bound to take an immediate action on the occurrence of any incident of ragging. The concerned officer-in-charge will make a report to this effect to the Vice-Chancellor at the earliest.
- Every single incident of ragging where the victim or his parents or guardian or the head of educational institution is not satisfied with the institution arrangement of action, a First Information Report (FIR) shall be filed without exception by the institutional authorities with the local police authorities.
- Any failure on the part of institutional authority or negligence or deliberate delay in lodging the First Information Report (FIR) with the local police shall be construed to be an act of culpable negligence on part of the institutional authority
- If any victim or his parents or guardian intends to file First Information Report (FIR) Directly with the Police the shall not absolve the institutional authority from the requirement of filing the First Information Report (FIR).
- Any person found negligent in taking action/shall, on conviction, be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or a fine which may extend to ten thousand rupees or both.
Offence to be Cognizable, Non-bailable and Compoundable
- Every offence under this Ordinance shall be cognizable, non-bailable and compoundable with the permission of the Court.
- (1) Any student convicted of an offence under this Ordinance shall be expelled from the University.
(2) Student expelled on account of ragging shall not be admitted in any other educational institution for a period of three years form the date of order of such expulsion.
Preliminary Enquiry/Action
- (1) Whenever any student or, as the case may be, the parents or guardian or teacher of an educational institution or an Officer-in-Charge makes a complaint, in writing, of ragging to the head of the educational institution, shall , without prejudice to the foregoing provisions, within twenty four hours of the receipt of the complaint, enquire into it and, if, prima facie, it is found true, suspend the student found guilty.
(2) Where, on enquiry by the head of the educational institution, it is proved that prima facie there is no substance in the complaint received; he shall intimate the fact, in writing, to the complainant.
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