SC shocked at alcohol link to ragging

The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday termed ragging in different colleges as a “degradation of value system”. It also expressed “shock” at the revelations made by the two-member Raghavan committee, which held liquor consumption responsible for such serious forms of ragging.

“The report is shocking,” a bench of justices Arijit Pasayat and AK Ganguly said while commenting on the findings of the Raghavan panel’s report. According to the report, alcohol is responsible for the serious form of ragging Aman Kachru, 19, a medical student, was subject to at Dr Rajendra Prasad Medical College, Himachal Pradesh.

Aman died as a result of the internal injuries he sustained after four senior students ragged him in March. The four have been arrested and charged with murder. Reserving its order on ragging, the bench sought to evolve a mechanism for ‘zero tolerance’ against any form of ragging.

SC also expressed concerned over the increasing consumption of alcohol among students. “Is it because of total parental control or total lack of guidance? During the impressionable age, children need counselling,” the bench said, adding that every  every institution should appoint a counsellor as suggested by the panel.