As per the provision of Maharashtra Act XXXIII, known as ‘Maharashtra Prohibition of Ragging Act of 1999’ students indulging in ragging can be punished under the act resulting in either suspension, exclusion from the college and upto imprisonment with heavy fine.
The word ‘Ragging ‘means the act causing, inducting, compelling of forcing a student, whether by way of a practical jokes or otherwise, to do any act which detract from human dignity or violets his person or exposes him to injurious him or by using criminal force to him or by holding out to him any threat of such intimidation, wrongful confinement, injury or the use of criminal forces’
Forms of ragging :
Ragging is found to take the following forms (the list only indicative and not exhaustive)
- Crisp orders: to address senior as ‘Sir/Madam’ and ‘Sister/Brother’ (for nursing field)
- To perform mass drills,
- To copy class notes for the senior,
- To serve various errands,
- To do menial jobs for seniors,
- To ask/answer vulgar questions,
- To look pornographic pictures to ‘shock the fresher’s out of their innocence’
- To force to drink alcohol, scalding tea etc…
- To force to acts this can lead to physical injury/mental torture or death,
- To strip, kiss etc. to do other obscenities.
Punishments:
While the first 08 types of punishment can be awarded by the appropriate authority of college itself, the last punishment can be awarded only by court of law.
- Cancellation of admission.
- Suspension from attending classes.
- Withholding/withdrawing scholarship/fellowship and other benefits.
- Debarring from appearing in any test/examination or other evaluation process.
- Withholding result.
- Debarring from representing the institution in any state, national or international meet, tournament, youth festival, etc.
- Expulsion from the hostel and from institution for the period varying from 6 months to a year.
- Expulsion from the institution and consequent debarring from admission to any other institution fine up to Rs. 25000/-
- Rigorous imprisonment up to 03 years.
Any incident of ragging reported to taken place outside the college campus, without any enquiry, the complaint shall be forwarded to the police.
Note : Ragging is strictly prohibited in college/hostel/clinical. If any student is found guilty shall be entitled to the above punishment as appropriate.