LI Network
Published on: 06 September 2023 at 12:10 IST
The Calcutta High Court has issued directives to the West Bengal government, instructing them to promptly form anti-ragging committees in colleges throughout the state.
Additionally, the court has ordered the immediate organization of student union elections at all universities in the state.
A division bench consisting of Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya issued these directives after learning that the guidelines recommended by the RK Raghavan Committee to combat ragging in colleges have not been implemented in the state.
These guidelines, originally issued in 2009 and validated by the Supreme Court, must now be put into practice.
The court’s order stated, “The grievance in the instant PIL is that the State is yet to implement the recommendations made by the Raghavan Committee. Be that as it may, we direct the State to forthwith constitute Anti-Ragging Committees in all the educational institutions. The State is further ordered to immediately conduct Students’ Union elections in all the universities.” The matter will be revisited on September 19.
Furthermore, the court heard a separate batch of public interest litigation (PIL) petitions concerning the situation at Jadavpur University, which led to the tragic suicide of a first-year BA student who was allegedly subjected to ragging by senior students.
The court expressed its desire to hear from the student unions at the university, as various allegations had been made against them. However, during Tuesday’s session, it was revealed that most of the student unions were defunct because their elected members had graduated.
Senior Advocate Kalyan Bandyopadhyay, representing one of the petitioners, informed the judges that despite the unions being defunct, their former office bearers continued to make statements in the media regarding the university’s affairs.
In response, the bench ordered the graduated students to refrain from commenting on Jadavpur University and its affairs. The Chief Justice emphasized, “Only the existing students can voice their grievances, if any.”
Additionally, the bench directed Jadavpur University to conduct a thorough “room-to-room” inspection of all its hostels to ensure that no former students were residing there. This action was prompted by allegations that former students were still living in the hostels and subjecting junior students to ragging.
The court ordered the university to provide these former students with a 24-hour notice to vacate the rooms if they were found to be residing there. The matter will be heard again on September 26.