The Orissa High Court has expressed deep concerns over continuation of ragging activities on campuses of Odisha’s medical colleges despite the Medical Council of India (Prevention and Prohibition of Ragging in Medical Colleges/Institutions) Regulations, 2009) declaring ragging a punishable offence.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice S. Talapatra and Justice Savitri Ratho made this observation while hearing a public interest litigation petition which highlighted incidents of freshly admitted students being subjected to traumatising ragging in the State-run Maharaja Krushna Chandra Gajapati (MKCG) Medical College, Berhampur.
Laxmidhar Swain, the petitioner, had submitted that incidents of ragging in the form of physical and mental torture had been brought to the notice of authorities.
“In the past, there had been concerted efforts for preventing and eradicating those criminal activities commonly called ragging. Even in-house committees to stop the ragging were put in place. Other mechanisms were adopted to stop this pernicious behaviour. We are really shocked that despite the MCI notification, a few medical colleges have failed to arrest these kinds of activities within the campus and hostels,” the High Court remarked.
“Other measures for prohibiting ragging had been recommended. Since the said notification has been issued by the MCI, that is binding on all medical colleges. Prima facie we are satisfied that the college authorities are failing to discharge their duties for guaranteeing protection to the students, freshly admitted, in the medical course in that college. We are greatly shocked,” the two-judge Bench said.
The High Court directed the Superintendent of Police (SP), Berhampur, to immediately carry out a stock-taking exercise in consultation with the dean and principal, MKCG Medical College, and after such exercise, the SP should take appropriate action against the students found to have indulged or indulging in such immoral and unacceptable conduct.
Moreover, the court ordered MKCG Medical College to segregate new students from the seniors.
