Court orders students to do social work as punishment for ragging: Kerala High Court
The High Court of Kerala, through learned judge, Justice K. Haripal in the case Harikrishnan & Ors. vs State of Kerala & Ors. (CRL.MC NO. 213 OF 2022) ordered students to do social work as punishment for ragging.
BRIEF FACTS OF THE CASE: Petitioners are alleged of commission of offences under Sections 341, 323, 506, 325 read with 34 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 4 of the Kerala Prohibition of Ragging Act, 1998. The petitioners who are students of the TKM Engineering College, Kollam subjected some of the junior students of the college to ragging and caused them grievous hurt. The crime was registered on the first information furnished by one of the ragged students indicating that the accused persons had abused them, treated them cruelly and manhandled them. They were taken to the railway track under the railway over-bridge and were beaten up. Now on the ground of settlement reached with the petitioners and the injured students, the petitioners approached the court to quash the entire proceedings against them.
JUDGEMENT: The court relied on the submission of the learned Senior Public Prosecutor and held that in view of the settlement, proceedings can be quashed but the petitioners should be directed to do some social work under the supervision of the District Legal Services Authority. The court directed the petitioners to appear before the Secretary, District Legal Services Authority, Kollam for getting them deployed for appropriate social service activities preferably in the General Hospital, Kollam. The Secretary, District Legal Services Authority was to ensure that the petitioners were assigned social services, in consultation with the Superintendent, General Hospital, Kollam for a period of two weeks, for doing services at least eight hours a day. The court held that exoneration would take effect only after production of a certificate proving the satisfactory completion of social services, issued by the Secretary, District Legal Services Authority, before the Station House Officer, Kilikolloor police station.
JUDGEMENT REVIEWED BY – AMRUTHA K