What is ragging?

Ragging is defined as an act involving an activity violating a student’s dignity. Ragging is done in the name of fresher’s welcome, i.e. shows what extent a person or human imagination can fall to prove his supremacy. According to a survey in the year 2017, about 40% of India’s students had to face some form of ragging and bullying, of which medical and engineering colleges reported the most. These figures are shocking because this data has come despite strict laws against ragging.

Punishments under the Indian Penal Code against acts of Ragging:

Every incident of ragging or abetting in ragging puts an obligation on the institution to register the FIR. There are provisions in the IPC, which can be used by a student to register an FIR at the nearest Police Station. These provisions are:

294 – Obscene acts and songs
323 – punishment for voluntarily causing hurt
324 – voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapon or means
325 – punishment for voluntarily causing grievous hurt
326 – voluntarily causing grievous hurt by a dangerous weapon
339 – Wrongful Restraint
340 – Wrongful Confinement
341 – Punishment for Wrongful Restraint
342 – Punishment for Wrongful Confinement
506 – Punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

Consequences of Ragging

(i) Cancellation of admission.

(ii) Suspension from attending classes.

(iii) Withholding/withdrawing scholarship and other benefits.

(iv) Debarring from appearing in exam/other evaluation process.

(v) Withholding results.

(vi) Debarring the student from representing in any national, international or youth festival.

(vii) Restriction from institution for a period of 1 to 4 years

(viii) Expulsion from an institution and barring from admission in any other institution.

(ix) Fine up to ₹ 25,000/-