Kerala High Court directs state government to take strict action against ragging
The state should also make sure that the guilty are not left unpunished. Justice D K Singh also said that though the UGC anti-ragging regulations are strict, they have not deterred the unruly behaviour and conduct of the students. The regulations are not enough to curb ragging activity in its entirety.
The court issued the order while disposing of a petition filed by Kanthanathan R, suspended assistant warden, and M K Narayanan, suspended dean of the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Pookode, seeking to quash the disciplinary action following the death of Sidharthan J S, a second-year student of the college, following ragging.
The court said the decision of the university to keep the disciplinary proceedings in abeyance against them on the ground that the highest authority has intervened is against the scheme of the University Act and the Statutes of the University.
The court made it clear that in view of the communication on September 27, 2024, by the chancellor to the vice-chancellor, the university is directed to proceed against the petitioners.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News18
5 hours ago
- News18
UGC Flags 89 Institutes Including IIT Bombay, Kharagpur For Not Following Anti-Ragging Norms
Last Updated: Defaulters include IIT Bombay, Kharagpur, Palakkad, Hyderabad; IIM Bombay, Rohtak, Tiruchirappalli; AIIMS Raebareli; and NID campuses in Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, and Haryana. Four Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and three Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) have been named on a defaulter list for not following anti-ragging rules, according to officials from the University Grants Commission (UGC). The UGC has sent show-cause notices to 89 institutions across India for not submitting the required anti-ragging compliance documents. Among the 17 Institutes of National Importance on the list are well-known IITs, IIMs, AIIMS, and NIDs. The IITs listed as defaulters are IIT Bombay, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Palakkad, and IIT Hyderabad. The IIMs on the list include IIM Bombay, IIM Rohtak, and IIM Tiruchirappalli. AIIMS Raebareli and the National Institute of Design (NID) campuses in Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, and Haryana have also been named. 'It has come to the attention of UGC that these institutions have failed to submit the mandatory Anti-Ragging undertakings by students and compliance undertaking by the institutions, despite multiple advisories issued by the UGC, follow-up calls from the Anti-Ragging Helpline, and direct interventions by the Anti Ragging Monitoring Agency," UGC Secretary Manish Joshi, reported PTI. 'Adherence to the UGC Regulation on Ragging, 2009 is mandatory for all Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Failure to comply not only violates UGC guidelines but also compromises student safety, particularly in light of increasing concerns about ragging-related distress and campus hostility," he added. The UGC has warned that institutions on the defaulter list may face serious consequences, such as withdrawal of UGC grants and funding, which would affect financial assistance and research work. It has also warned of possible de-recognition or cancellation of affiliation if the institutions don't comply within 30 days. Other well-known names on the list include the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Hyderabad; Aligarh Muslim University; Nalanda University; IGNOU; and the Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata. As per the Anti-Ragging Regulations, 2009, every student, along with their parents or guardians, must submit an anti-ragging undertaking at the time of admission and again at the start of each academic year.
The Hindu
8 hours ago
- The Hindu
Shipwreck: PIL filed before Kerala HC seeking environmental security deposit
Social activist and president of Kerala Fish Workers Coordination Committee and Swathanthra Matsya Thozhilali Union Charles George has filed a public interest litigation (PIL) before the Kerala High Court, seeking $134 million as environmental security deposit, citing, among others, the threat to marine biodiversity following the sinking on May 25 of a container vessel MSC ELSA 3, approximately 14.60 nautical miles off the Alappuzha coast. The vessel was carrying 643 containers, including 244 with hazardous and noxious substances, 58 with foreign waste, and over 450 metric tonnes of marine fuel. Despite the confirmed presence of this dangerous cargo, neither adequate wreck removal nor oil extraction has been carried out. In his petition, Mr. George said that one of the gravest concerns emerging from the sinking of the vessel was the apparent and deliberate misdeclaration or non-declaration of cargo, which not only violated Indian Customs laws and international maritime conventions but also posed significant risks to public safety, national security, and environmental integrity. The incident has in turn triggered catastrophic ecological, economic and legal consequences. The hazardous materials in the containers and bunker oil pose severe risks to Kerala's marine biodiversity, particularly during the monsoon fish spawning season. Oil sardines, a vital source of income for Kerala's coastal fishermen, are at risk of extinction due to this maritime disaster. The incident has exposed glaring regulatory failures — cargo misdeclaration, lack of advanced container scanning at ports, insufficient port State control (PSC) measures, and a disturbing attempt to evade liability through corporate structuring. This has also made arrest under the Admiralty Act ineffective, necessitating urgent judicial directions to secure $134 million as environmental security deposit before the court as interim security for environmental and economic damage, Mr. George said in his petition. Through this PIL, he sought urgent and comprehensive relief to mitigate the environmental, legal and economic fallout of the ship sinking incident. He also sought a direction to arrest any MSC vessel within India's Admiralty jurisdiction to secure maritime claims and a direction for an immediate and independent investigation into the gross cargo misdeclaration, an order mandating the installation of advanced scanning, detection and verification infrastructure at all Indian ports and a time-bound, court-monitored wreck removal and environmental remediation operation.
The Hindu
10 hours ago
- The Hindu
HC orders removal of man's photo from rowdy list gallery
The Kerala High Court has ordered the removal of the photo of a person from the rowdy list gallery at the Fort Kochi police station within two weeks, saying that 'once a rowdy, need not always be a rowdy'. 'Reformation is the main goal of Indian criminal jurisprudence. Economic hardship and many other factors could lead to one's involvement in crimes. No person is born a criminal. An opportunity must be given to reform himself,' Justice P.V. Kunhikrishnan said, while hearing a petition by Nixon of Fort Kochi. Mr. Nixon's counsel contended that his circle of friends led him to get involved in criminal cases till eight years ago, and that he was acquitted in almost all pending cases. He now leads a quiet life with family and is a God-fearing man, working as a supervisor in the building contract works of his brother. His photo with his name beneath exhibited in the rowdy list gallery at the station would even affect his marriage prospects. Opposing the petition, the public prosecutor said that the petitioner had been involved in many cases, including serious ones, for 13 years since 2004. He was also in constant touch with people engaged in criminal activities, and there was a need for surveillance to make him desist from involvement in criminal activities, he contended.
