Anti-ragging Act: Need two months to finalise draft amendments, Kerala HC told
Director general of prosecution (DGP) T A Shaji made this submission before the bench of Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice C Jayachandran in response to a petition by KeLSA, which sought a direction to the govt to reassess the Act and frame rules to ensure the effective eradication of ragging.
During the hearing, the UGC and KeLSA submitted their suggestions regarding the draft Act and proposed Rules. The UGC recommended, among other things, the inclusion of autonomous colleges, affiliated colleges, hostels and lodges in the definition clause; the inclusion of hostel wardens in the anti-ragging committee; and ensuring that the proposed administrative actions under the Rules align with the UGC Regulations, 2009.
KeLSA, in its suggestions, proposed changes to the definitions of 'ragging' and 'educational institutions.' They also recommended the inclusion of a provision for deemed abetment and the removal of the concept of 'freshers' from the draft. KeLSA clarified that deemed abetment would apply when the head of an educational institution or any responsible person fails to take timely and appropriate action upon receiving information or having knowledge of ragging, or wilfully conceals, suppresses, or fails to report such incidents.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Is it better to shower in the morning or at night? Here's what a microbiologist says
CNA
Read More
Undo
Such inaction or concealment, it said, should be treated as abetment of ragging and made punishable. KeLSA also suggested using 'any student' instead of 'freshers' in the draft so that protection against ragging applies not just to newly admitted students.
Additionally, KeLSA informed HC that two ragging incidents were recently reported in the state. One allegedly took place at a Govt Higher Secondary School in Kaniyambetta, Kalpetta, Wayanad, where a Plus One student was instructed by five other students to shave his beard and report to school accordingly. Though he complied, retaining only his moustache, he was allegedly physically assaulted later. The second incident occurred in Malappuram district, where a Class IX student was reportedly bullied and physically assaulted by a newly admitted Class X student, along with others.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
17 minutes ago
- Time of India
Garbage left to rot as sanitation workers don't turn up for duty fearing crackdown in Gurgaon
Gurgaon: As police began detaining suspected illegal immigrants, especially those from the Bengali-speaking minority community, several neighbourhoods in the city are struggling with mounting garbage and deteriorating sanitation conditions. Residents say that garbage collection has come to a near halt in many sectors and colonies, with sanitation workers failing to turn up for duty since the crackdown began. With nowhere else to dispose it of, some are resorting to dumping garbage in open spaces, further adding to the civic mess. Rajkumar Yadav, RWA president of Sector 46, said, "This has become a full sanitation crisis. Garbage wasn't picked up from our households for over a week. It's rotting in the heat, and the stench is spreading to nearby homes. Some are even dumping waste in open plots. MCG has not provided any backup plan." You Can Also Check: Gurgaon AQI | Weather in Gurgaon | Bank Holidays in Gurgaon | Public Holidays in Gurgaon Across several parts of the city — including Sectors 9A, 10, 37D, 46, and arterial stretches like Southern Peripheral Road — mounds of garbage now lie swarming with flies, stray dogs, and cattle. Suraj Bhola, general secretary of the Sector 9A RWA, echoed the concern, saying the situation was spiralling out of control. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like $30K Goes a Long Way in This Clementi Condo squarerooms Read More Undo "We are fed up with the MCG functioning. They give contracts to firms that don't even have sufficient vehicles or manpower to collect the waste regularly. Even the private vendor has now suddenly disappeared. Many of the workers haven't shown up since the police started detaining people," he said. Meanwhile, MCG officials confirmed that waste collection has slowed down in several zones and attributed the disruption to crunch in manpower. "We are aware of the shortfall and have asked the agencies to engage backup staff and hire locals where possible. As of now, 100 vehicles have been deployed for door-to-door collection," said a senior official of MCG. One contractor, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, "Nearly 60-65% of our workforce are Bengali-speaking Muslims. After the raids began, there was panic. Some were beaten by police; others heard rumours and just left. Now they have gone to nearby districts or back to their villages. Replacing them with local workers is proving very difficult — the scale is too big and few are willing to take up waste collection. " In Suncity, residents say garbage was not collected for ten days. "It's becoming unbearable. We've been keeping garbage inside our homes. There has been no communication from the civic body on when normal service will resume," said VMK Singh, a long-time resident of the township. Despite assurances that the crackdown is focused only on undocumented foreign nationals, many workers feel unsafe. "I have Aadhaar, voter ID, everything. But I heard that people with documents were still picked up and kept for days. I don't want to take that risk," said Azirur Rehman, who works as a waste collector and lives in Islampur. However, some RWAs say they've been left to manage the crisis on their own. At Ardee City in Sector 52, the RWA moved quickly to fill the gap after all 12 of its waste collectors left the city. "We coordinated with the same private vendor and managed to deploy four local workers and a garbage pickup truck," said Chaitali Mandhotra, an RWA member. "We created an alert system using WhatsApp lane groups and a PA system. As soon as the truck reaches a lane, residents are notified to hand over their garbage bags. This has helped us maintain cleanliness and avoid pile-ups." Similarly, DLF City facility management has rolled out a set of temporary interventions to ensure continuity of services. To deal with the shortfall, the management has introduced mobile central collection points (MCCPs) — tractor trolleys stationed at fixed locations like parks and gates within each block. Dhruv Bansal, residents representative, DLF City Residents Groups said, "The sanitation collapse in DLF City is not just a civic failure—it's the result of poorly executed verification drives that led to the abrupt removal of experienced Bengali sanitation workers. These workers formed the backbone of our daily waste management system. Their sudden exit, without trained replacements, has triggered a garbage emergency across DLF phases. Residents are now dealing with overflowing waste, foul stench, and a serious public health threat. We demand immediate restoration of proper staffing and long-term planning from authorities."
Time of India
17 minutes ago
- Time of India
Pocso, murder case convictionset aside by HC
Mumbai: Bombay high court on Wednesday set aside a judgment of February 28, 2022 by a fast-track sessions court in Pune, which convicted a sole accused and had sentenced him to death. HC justices, Sarang Kotwal and Shyam Chandak, cited principles laid down recently by Supreme Court that emphasised imperativeness of providing a "fair opportunity" to an accused to defend himself when the charge against him attracts the death penalty. The high court directed the trial court to re-hear arguments afresh and expeditiously, but not to conduct the entire trial de novo. In 2022, a fast-track court in Pune, dealing with cases under Pocso (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act, sentenced a 38-year-old labourer to death for kidnapping, raping, and murdering a two-and-a-half-year-old girl in Pune district in February 2021. The accused, through his counsel, argued that the trial was vitiated due to a lack of proper opportunity to defend himself. The high court refrained from commenting on the merits. You Can Also Check: Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai Quoting from a 2025 Supreme Court ruling, the high court said, "The failure of the trial court to ensure the deposition of the scientific experts while relying upon the DNA report has definitely led to the failure of justice, thereby vitiating the trial." by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Indonesia: New Container Houses (Prices May Surprise You) Container House | Search ads Search Now Undo The argument before the high court by both sides was that the Supreme Court has laid down that once a trial is thus vitiated, there is no question of confirming the sentence imposed through the operative part of the judgment and order passed by the trial court. The trial court had ordered that he be hanged to death, subject to confirmation as required by law. The high court said, "Since this is a case of capital punishment, the court has to ensure that all the opportunities must be afforded to the accused to defend himself. The accused must get one opportunity to argue all the aspects in respect of the additional evidence before the trial court itself so that he does not lose one forum. The trial court can appreciate the additional evidence in the background of the other evidence to consider the effect of the entire evidence cumulatively." On whether it should be a re-trial or if the trial court can re-hear arguments, the high court adopted the process which the apex court did in the "strikingly similar" case from MP, where it had not directed the trial court to conduct the trial de novo by wiping out the evidence already recorded, but to hear arguments afresh. HC directed the accused and his counsel to appear before the trial court on August 12 for further directions and disposed of the confirmation reference and his appeal.
Time of India
17 minutes ago
- Time of India
Govt contractor found dead; ‘was owed 1.4cr': Kin
Kolhapur: A 35-year-old govt contractor from a Sangli village, who was allegedly under immense financial duress over pending payments for projects, was found dead at his farm on Wednesday. A family member told police that govt owed him Rs 1.4 crore in dues and he had also incurred debt of Rs 65 lakh from banks and private lenders. The contractor, Harshal Patil of Tandulwadi village in Sangli's Islampur taluka, was said to have worked on pipe laying and tank construction projects of Jal Jeevan Mission, a rural water supply scheme. Sangli ZP chief executive officer Trupti Dhodmise, however, told TOI, "He was not registered with us. Some big contractor may have leased out works to him, which we need to find out." According to the family, Patil left home at 7pm on Tuesday. When he did not return, his relatives went looking for him in Satara and Pune. They also registered a missing person complaint. The next afternoon, they found him dead at the farm. Patil is survived by his wife, parents, two younger brothers and a four-year-old daughter. His family was financially dependent on him. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Buy the Dip: Top 5 Dividend Stocks with Growth Potential Seeking Alpha Read More Undo You Can Also Check: Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai Assistant police inspector Vikram Patil said, "We have not found any suicide note. We are, however, getting the statements of the relatives. We have registered the death as a suicide." Many contractors across the state are awaiting govt bill payments. Contractors had held a statewide strike on July 4 demanding immediate clearance of dues. Since Jan, contractors have held at least five protests in different districts. Milind Bhosale, state president of the contractors' association, said he has written at least 25 letters to govt to hold a meeting over Rs 90,000 crore dues. "Govt's Jal Jeevan Mission department alone has pending bills of Rs 12,000 crore. PWD also has Rs 46,000 crore dues. In March, we met PWD minister Shivendraraje Bhosale. There are pending bills of Rs 8,500 crore with the rural department and Rs 20,000 crore with the water resources department. We met [water resources minister] Girish Mahajan, who assured us of a meeting with CM Devendra Fadnavis during the assembly session, but the session has ended and there is no word from govt's side yet."
