[Commons-Law] IPC, amendment, confusion, ragging...

[Stop Ragging Campaign]

Dear commons-law list members,

I am a Sarai-CSDS Independent Fellow; the subject of my Fellowship is
the nature of ragging in hostels. As part of that I have been studying
legal provisions on ragging. Am a bit confused about something, and I
wonder if members of this list could help?

Here it is:

Kolkata-based lawyer-activist Tapas Bhanja filed a PIL in the Supreme
Court on ragging in West Bengal, which the SC passed on to the West
Bengal High Court. thanks to the PIL the West Bengal Prohibition of
Ragging Act was eventually passed in 2002. Bhanja also argued that the
IPC should be amended to making ragging a criminal offence. According
to the news reports pasted below, the IPC was accordingly amended. How
can I get the latest version of the IPC? I want to know which section
of IPC is it, and what exactly the language is, etc. The online
sources that have the full IPC don't seem to have been updated. 

Also: the IPC could not have been amended just for West Bengal, right?
It must apply to the whole of India? And what is the procedure to
amend the IPC?

* * *

"A division bench, comprising Mukul Gopal Mukherjee and Gitesh Ranjan
Bhattacharya, had then directed the state government to amend the
Indian Penal Code (IPC) so that ragging could be treated as a
cognisable offence, that would enable the police to take up such cases
without waiting for specific complaints." [
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1030814/asp/calcutta/story_2261967.asp ]

[ Do the states have different IPC's? ]

* * *

Court raps state for laxity on ragging

OUR LEGAL REPORTER
Calcutta, Dec. 5:
[ http://www.telegraphindia.com/1031206/asp/bengal/story_2650153.asp ]

The high court today expressed its displeasure over the state's
attitude in giving effect to the anti-ragging act and directed the
government to take all possible steps to make people, especially
students, aware of the consequence of the offence.

A bench of Chief Justice A.K. Mathur and Justice A.K. Bannerjee also
directed the government to initiate criminal proceedings against
students guilty of ragging. The order followed a public interest
litigation filed by advocate Tapas Bhanja alleging that the government
had taken no action against guilty students.

The petitioner also told the judges that the government did not carry
out an earlier order of the court in this regard. A division bench of
Justices Mukulgopal Mukherjee and Gitesh Ranjan Bhattacharya had
directed the government on December 21, 1992, to make arrangements to
amend the Indian Penal Code to bring ragging under the purview of the
criminal act.

In August this year, the division bench of Mathur and Bannerjee asked
the state to file an affidavit. The government said in the affidavit
the Anti-ragging Act, 2000, had been enacted. Government pleader
Rabilal Moitra told the court that the law prescribed imprisonment and
a fine of up to Rs 5,000 for guilty students. "The accused students
will also be rusticated from their institutions and not be allowed to
secure admission in other colleges."

But Moitra failed to produce in court a copy of the law. The court
finally expressed doubts about the existence of the law. "It appears
that there is no such act at all." A copy was in court today and the
judges said the government must ensure that the people know about the
law's existence.

* * *

Straight Answers

DEBASHIS KONAR
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 01, 2005 07:20:49 PM ]
[ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1007712.cms ]

Tapas Kumar Bhanja, Legal activist, on his PIL against ragging and
illegal activities in college hostels.

What prompted you to file this PIL?

I had filed a PIL in 1992, when a Shibpur BE College student's leg
broke due to ragging. The vice chancellors in the state had submitted
an affidavit to combat ragging in the court. In 1994, Calcutta High
Court directed the government to set up a high level committee to
check ragging. The Indian Penal Code was amended and ragging was
declared as a criminal offence. The West Bengal anti-ragging act was
also framed in 2000.

But why did you file this PIL again?

In 2003, many ragging incidents took place in various engineering
colleges in the state. Many students were forced to drop out of these
colleges. So I filed this PIL. The VCs were not doing enough to
prevent ragging which they had vouched to do in their affidavit
earlier. Most ragging in the hostels take place after the senior
students consume alcohol. So, I have demanded that the entry of
alcohol and narcotics in the hostel should be banned.

Can the entry of alcohol and drugs in hostels be prevented?

If the hostel authority are strict, it is possible to stop all illegal
activities in it. There is a nexus in some hostels between the
authorities and senior students and those in-charge also enjoy a share
of alcohol and even watch pornographic films together with the
students.

What measures can help the situation?

The head of the institutes should visit the hostels regularly to keep
tab. There need to be a proper vigil so that students do not drink
alcohol and freshers are not ragged.

o o o o o

Thanks!
Shivam