THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A special bench was constituted in the High Court to hear ragging cases in educational institutions in the state. The decision was taken by the Division Bench, presided over by the Chief Justice.

The order was issued by Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and S Manu. The decision was based on the Public Interest Litigation filed by Kerala Legal Services Authority, minding the sudden surge in ragging cases across the state.

In the petition, it was pointed out that the government was not adopting strict measures in such cases. Despite the court order to stop ragging, the government has not been able to make a proper framework in this regard. Due to government inaction, cases are spiking in the state. The petition requested the court direct effective anti-ragging measures.

The petition demanded the formation of State and district-level anti-ragging monitoring committees, anti-ragging squads in schools, educational institutions and government departments to submit progress reports before the state-level monitoring committee.

The court then decided to constitute a special bench to consider the matter. The High Court, which received the petition in the file, has sought the government’s response. The special bench will hear the case tomorrow.