Ahmedabad: To curb the menace of ragging in higher institutions, the Gujarat government, in its resolution, stated that the victims or witnesses of ragging who do not report the incidents will be punished suitably. 

The Government Resolution (GR) stated that the punishment for ragging would range from the suspension of students from attending classes and academic privileges to expulsion. Moreover, the punishment also included dismissal to the extent that a student cannot be admitted to any educational institution for five years. 

The GR also made provisions for collective punishment if the people committing or abetting the crime were not identified, 

"Freshers who do not report the incidents of ragging either as victims or as witnesses shall also be punished suitably," stated the GR issued by the higher education department on Tuesday.

The state government on Wednesday submitted a copy of the GR before a division bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal hearing a suo motu PIL on the incidents of ragging in medical colleges.

The government said the GR was based on the regulations on ragging issued by the University Grants Commission and the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE).

The GR mandates the migration or transfer certificate issued to students by the institution to have an entry on whether the student was punished for the offence of committing or abetting ragging.

It shall also carry an entry on whether the student has displayed "persistent violent or aggressive behaviour or any inclination to harm others, the order said.

The GR also makes access to mobile phones and public phones unrestricted in hostels and campuses. On the other hand, use of phones shall be restricted with jammers in classrooms, seminar halls, libraries, etc, it said.

The rules also mandate the heads of institutions other than universities to submit weekly reports on the status of compliance with anti-ragging measures to the vice-chancellor of the university, to which they are affiliated for the first three months of a new academic year, and thereafter every month.

Periodic psychological counselling, awareness campaigns through posters, workshops, etc, and inclusion of anti-ragging topics in teacher training programmes and BEd courses are other measures listed in the GR to curb the menace.

Also, privately managed lodges and hostels will have to be registered with local police authorities, and administration and institutions will have to maintain vigil and will be held responsible for action in the event of ragging on such premises, it said.

Among other measures, institutions are required to announce in advertisements for admissions that ragging is completely banned, and the prospectus and other admission-related documents shall incorporate all directions of the Supreme Court and/or state and central governments for the same, the GR said.

Institutions will have to inform parents/guardians of the students who are completing the first year through a letter informing them about the anti-ragging law and appeal to them to insist upon their wards to desist from indulging in ragging when they come back to the institutions during the next academic year.

The GR also mandates institutions to form anti-ragging committees with representatives of faculty members, parents and students belonging to the freshers' category as well as senior and non-teaching staff.

Institutes shall also form an anti-ragging squad and a monitoring cell regarding compliance with the instructions on conducting orientation programmes, and counselling sessions regarding the incidents of ragging, the GR said.

(with PTI inputs)