SC directs Centre to notify committee to combat ragging

New Delhi, Nov 27 (UNI) The Supreme Court today directed the Centre to immediately notify a committee headed by former CBI Director R K Raghavan to prepare a report suggesting ways and means for overcoming the ragging menace in educational institutions.

A Bench comprising Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice S H Kapadia strongly disapproved the tendency of the government to appoint sitting high court judges as heads of judicial inquiry commissions.

The court directed that no sitting judge of any high court would be appointed for conducting a judicial inquiry.

Today's order will, however, not be applicable to those inquiry commissions which are at the fag end and only their reports are to be submitted.

The apex court expressed its dismay when informed by the Additional Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium that not even a single state in the country has responded till date, to the Centre's letter seeking details of high court judges heading inquiry commissions.

The committee on ragging has been directed to submit within four months from the date of its notification.

Other members of the committee are the present director IIT Kanpur, present principal Ramjus college Delhi and director of Maulana Azad college. Sunil Kumar, joint secretary Union HRD ministry will also be the member.

The committee will suggest measures and modalities to check ragging menace and the stern action that can be taken against persons indulging in ragging.

The court pointed out that over two dozen freshers have lost their lives due to torture and harassment meted out to them under the garb of ragging and the victims included the son of a prinicipal of an IIT college.

Today's direction came on a petition filed by university of Kerala.

The court also made it clear that sitting high court judges were supposed to hold judicial inquiries only in matters of great national and public importance whereas the state governments were frequently appointing them for inquiring into trivial and local matters UNI AKS/SC SB RL PM1344