{"id":48130,"date":"2025-07-14T20:40:05","date_gmt":"2025-07-14T15:10:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=48130"},"modified":"2025-07-30T11:38:30","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T06:08:30","slug":"ugc-anti-ragging-failure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/14-07-2025\/ugc-anti-ragging-failure","title":{"rendered":"UGC\u2019s Anti-ragging System Has Utterly Failed: Delhi HC"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/Governance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Delhi High Court has signalled that it may<strong> initiate a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) petition<\/strong> to address the<strong> recent surge in ragging incidents and student deaths<\/strong> across higher educational institutions.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The development comes after the Supreme Court, this year, expressed <strong>concern about the existing UGC regulations.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Supreme Court Observation in 2025<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>SC noted that UGC\u2019s anti-ragging regulations remain mostly on paper.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Institutions only follow formalities \u2014 like affidavits and posters \u2014 without real action.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It directed the formation of a National Task Force on student mental health.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Ragging in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>According to the 2022 National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report: <\/strong>\u00a0Students accounted for<strong> 7.6%<\/strong> \u2014 or 13,044 \u2014 of all deaths by suicide in India<strong>, surpassing the combined toll among farmers and agricultural labourers.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Of the total student deaths, 13.5% were reported in Maharashtra followed by 10.9% in Tamil Nadu, 10.3% in Madhya Pradesh and 8.1% in Uttar Pradesh.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Government Steps to Curb Ragging<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In a landmark verdict, the <strong>Vishwa Jagriti Mission v. Central Government &amp; Others, 2001,<\/strong> the Supreme Court made ragging a punishable offense and mandated strict institutional measures.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Raghavan Committee in 2007 <\/strong>was constituted by the Supreme Court of India to address the menace of ragging in educational institutions.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The committee recommended treating ragging as a punishable criminal offense under the <strong>Indian Penal Code (IPC).<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Supreme Court Guidelines: <\/strong>In <strong>2009,<\/strong> the Supreme Court of India ordered the implementation of a ragging prevention program. The program included the following steps:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Anti-ragging helpline:<\/strong> A toll-free helpline or call center to be set up.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Regulations:<\/strong> Directed the <strong>University Grants Commission (UGC)<\/strong> to frame regulations to curb ragging in higher education institutions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Anti-ragging committee: <\/strong>Mandated the UGC to constitute an Anti-Ragging Committee and an Anti-Ragging Squad.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>National Ragging Prevention Programme (NRPP)<\/strong>, a data-driven mechanism, in 2009 under the UGC supervision.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Features:<\/strong> A 24&#215;7 dedicated student helpline, mandatory online affidavits to raise awareness, mechanisms to flag non-compliant institutions, and a non-governmental agency for independent monitoring.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It allowed UGC to withdraw funding from non-compliant institutions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Role of NGOs:<\/strong> Organizations like<strong> Society Against Violence in Education (SAVE) <\/strong>actively track cases and push for legal action against institutions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Reasons for Persisting Ragging<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Deep-Rooted Cultural Mindset: <\/strong>Ragging is often seen as a &#8220;rite of passage&#8221; or \u201cinitiation ritual\u201d to foster bonding.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Many seniors justify ragging because they themselves were ragged.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Lack of Stringent Implementation:<\/strong> The Supreme Court issued anti-ragging guidelines<strong> 15 years ago<\/strong>, but they have largely remained on paper.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>UGC regulations exist but are poorly implemented.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Institutions often downplay or suppress complaints to protect their reputation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Lack of Orientation and Awareness: <\/strong>New students often lack knowledge of their rights and redressal mechanisms.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Orientation programmes are either ineffective or absent in highlighting anti-ragging policies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Unaccountable System:<\/strong> Victims often struggle with an ad hoc, non-transparent process where complaints are not adequately addressed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Institutional Inaction: <\/strong>Despite the mandate for Anti-Ragging Squads and surprise inspections, the UGC does not maintain any record of actions taken.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Low Compliance: <\/strong>UGC guidelines require students to submit anti-ragging affidavits annually, yet RTI data shows that only <strong>4.49%<\/strong> of students have done so in the past decade.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Strict Enforcement of Guidelines:<\/strong> Authorities must ensure full implementation of Supreme Court and UGC regulations, holding institutions accountable for lapses.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Technology-Based Solutions: <\/strong>Expand CCTV surveillance in campuses to deter ragging incidents.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Secure online portals and ID-based dashboards to enable anonymous reporting by victims.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Legal Clarity: <\/strong>There is need for amendments to laws to ensure strict penalization of offenders, including faculty or management complicit in ignoring complaints.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/ugcs-anti-ragging-system-has-utterly-failed-says-delhi-high-court\/article69804535.ece\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The Delhi High Court has signalled that it may initiate a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) petition to address the recent surge in ragging incidents and student deaths across higher educational institutions.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Supreme Court Observation in 2025<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">SC noted that UGC\u2019s anti-ragging regulations remain mostly on paper.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Institutions only follow formalities \u2014 like affidavits and posters \u2014 without real action.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">It directed the formation of a National Task Force on student mental health.<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/14-07-2025\/ugc-anti-ragging-failure\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read\u00a0More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48130","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48130","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48130"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48130\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48146,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48130\/revisions\/48146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}