Earlier, ragging was used as a means to increase interaction among students of any institute. However, it gradually transformed into a more violent and problematic activity. In 2001, the Supreme Court of India declared ragging as illegal.

In pursuance to the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India dated, 08-05-2009, in Civil Appeal No. 887/2009 the UGC had notified "Regulations on Curbing the Menace of Ragging in Higher Educational Institutions,2009".

Madhya Pradesh is the eighth state in the country to make an anti-ragging law. The MP State Law Commission, under the guidance of Justice Ved Prakash (Retd) prepared the draft of “MP Prohibition of Ragging Act, 2019”. The Commission was of the opinion that a grave crime like ragging cannot be eliminated without a strict legislation.

What is Ragging?

In simple terms, ragging involves abuse, humiliation, or harassment of new entrants or junior students by the senior students. The institute has classified the following behaviour as ragging-

• Any remark, spoken or written, made on any student with respect to his dressing or appearance, intended to humiliate the student, in the hostel/ college. Calling the student by any derogatory/ humiliating name.
• Any remark, spoken or written, with respect to any student’s language, caste, region or religion.
• Humiliating any student, through any means, by remarks on his race, family, or economic status.
• Asking any student to do, what he would not in normal course do and which has the effect of humiliating him.
• Compelling any student to fulfill an obscene or indecent task.
• Any other act, which has the effect of humiliating any junior student, or generating a sense of shame, or affecting his mental/physical health adversely.  

Measures adopted by the Institute to curb Ragging.

• Constitution of Anti-Ragging Committee and Anti-Ragging Cell.
• Installation of CCTV cameras all over the campus.
• Anti-ragging warning in the Institute prospectus.
• Complete details of the members of the Anti-ragging Committee have been displayed on the notice board of the Institute and website.
• Affixing of Anti-ragging posters  at all the prominent locations inside the campus.
• Protection of the identity of any victim of ragging, witnesses and informants during preliminary enquiry.

Duties of the Anti-Ragging Committee

• Suspension of the accused student from the Institute on receiving a complaint.
• Expulsion on finding him guilty in the preliminary report. 
• Punishing the student according to the nature and gravity of the offence.

Dealing with complaints related to ragging

• An FIR to be registered. Bail only through Court.
• Suspension of the accused student from the Institute on receiving a complaint.
• Expulsion on finding him guilty in the preliminary report. 
• Filing of a chargesheet in the Court after investigation by the police.On being convicted, the accused will be barred from all the educational institutions in the country for a period of three years.

Some of the provisions under the Indian Penal Code, 1860 related to ragging

• Section 294- Obscene acts and songs.
• Section 325- Punishment for voluntarily causing grievous hurt.
• Section 339- Wrongful restraint
• Section 340- Wrongful Confinement
• Section 342- Punishment for Wrongful Confinement.
• Section 506- Punishment for Criminal Intimidation.