[Hindu] Chapter on ragging in law manual for college students

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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: `Lessons in Law,' an 80-page booklet in Malayalam brought out by the Kerala State Legal Services Authority (KELSA), that provides "legal empowerment" for college students has added a chapter on ragging in its latest issue published recently.

The book describes at length how ragging has always been a nightmarish experience for newcomers. There are students who have discontinued studies and even ended their lives due to the ignominies suffered during ragging.

The State Government passed a new law in the legislature in 1998 prohibiting ragging.

As per the definitions of the law, any act that has the potential to induce fear or terror in students or inflict mental, physical or emotional trauma on them comes under the ambit of ragging.

The law makes it clear that coercing a student to do something against his will is equivalent to ragging. So is the act of abusing or insulting a student. The booklet points out that it is not necessary that ragging occur only within the confines of educational institutions.

A student found guilty of ragging can get imprisonment for two years and fine of Rs.10,000. The law also stipulates that a student found guilty of ragging be expelled from the institution in which he is studying, besides debarring him from obtaining admission in any other educational institution for a period of three years.

It mandates that Principals of educational institutions conduct investigation into complaints of ragging within seven days of receiving a written representation from the victim, besides forwarding a copy of the complaint to the nearest police station. The Principal is duty bound to expel the student from the institution if there is prima facie evidence against the accused.

The law also has provisions for punitive action against the heads of institutions, in case of default of initiating the necessary steps to check the menace on campus. The punishment for `abetting ragging' will be the same as that of a student found guilty of ragging.

The booklet will be distributed in colleges as a part of legal literacy classes conducted by the KELSA. The project is a part of the National Legal Literacy Mission.