Ragging is alien to Indian culture, said senior judge and Chittoor district legal services authority (DLSA) secretary, Velpula Krishnamurthy.
While participating in the legal awareness programme on Anti-Ragging Act in S.V. College of Engineering and Technology, here on Saturday, the official said that familiarisation with fresh batch students did not require any uncivilised and barbaric acts in the name of ‘ragging’. Till 1960, it is in mild form, but thereafter it took an ugly turn and subjected the new entrants in colleges to harassment by directing them to do illegal acts.
He said so far 2,000 cases were reported to the University Grants Commission. Out of them, only 123 cases were given the first information reports.
Taking a serious note of the uncivilised act in the professional colleges on the name of ragging, the Supreme Court in a Judgment issued guidelines to the government and institutions where ragging acts are noticed by them, he said.
Junior students should first report to the college principal against the persons who indulge in ragging and if institutional authorities fail to initiate disciplinary action, they should approach the concerned police, the judge said.
If allegations of ragging are proved, the guilty will be debarred and expelled from the institution and his demeanor will be noted on the academic certificates that he is not entitled to have admission in any other institution. The stringent provisions in the A.P. Prohibition of Ragging Act 1997 would make the senior students to suffer their future education.
Additional SP (Red Sanders Operations) Yelisala Ratna advised the students to concentrate on their studies and try to achieve their goals. Ragging in any form is not tolerated and Police with the help of SHE-Teams would curb the menace with iron hand.
Eighth Additional District Judge K.Chidananda stated that Right to liberty and Right to freedom are the fundamental rights of citizens given by the Constitution, and nobody can take away the said rights of an individual.
The Apex Court has taken serious view of ragging in professional colleges and issued a series of directions to the government and institutional authorities.
