Strong message against ragging

Despite strict laws, the mob trial in hostels known as ragging, is a recurring inhuman act. One of the main reasons for this is that many are not willing to file a complaint due to fear of the gang power of seniors. Another reason is that even if a complaint is filed, the college authorities try to settle it without much public attention. The biggest factor that fuels this heinous act is the situation where even if a ragging case is found, the accused can continue their education in the same institution. This can be stopped only if it is understood beyond a shadow of a doubt that if a ragging case is found, the studies of offenders will come to an end.

Many people will hesitate to take on the role of a bully if they realize that they will not be able to return to college as a champion after being suspended for some time and that they will not get admission to any other educational institution. Any leniency shown by the authorities for the future of the students is bound to be misused. The High Court Division Bench has upheld the expulsion of 19 accused students from the college and debarring them for three years in the brutal ragging case of Pookode Veterinary College student Siddharth, sending a strong message to society against ragging.

The new verdict was passed by a division bench of Justice Amit Rawal and Justice KV Jayakumar on an appeal filed by Siddharth's mother MR Sheeba challenging the single bench order to allow the accused students to enter the Mannuthy campus. Siddharth was found dead in the bathroom of the hostel on February 18 last year. The case alleges that Siddharth, who was brutally tortured as part of ragging, committed suicide. The university had taken the step of expelling the accused students from the college and barring them from joining other colleges for three years. However, this action was quashed by the single bench in December. The university did not appeal against this verdict. That is why Siddharth's mother approached the division bench with an appeal.

Siddharth's death had caused a lot of uproar and protests in Kerala. However, within less than a year, the first-year students of the Government Nursing College in Gandhinagar, Kottayam, were brutally ragged and tortured. A group of hooligan seniors committed atrocities like pelting students with stones, beating them up from all sides, and making them drink spit water in the name of ragging. The accused must be severely punished to prevent such despicable incidents from recurring. The division bench has taken a firm decision to warn that such cruelty should never be repeated.