What pleasure do you get by ragging: Madras HC raps accused students

CHENNAI: Earlier this week, the Madras High Court came down heavily on eight students facing a criminal case for ragging fellow student, beating him black and blue with a belt, and locking him up in a hostel room for five hours because he wouldn't give them money to buy alcohol.

During the course of the hearing, Justice N Anand Venkatesh quashed the proceedings after being apprised that the accused students and the victim had arrived at a settlement. However, the judge made several comments on this incident. Expressing utmost disappointment, the judge reminded that ragging is an "inhuman" behaviour and that it is wrong to take joy in the suffering of others. Education would serve no purpose if students are indulging in such acts, the judge added.

What is the purpose of going to college if you will indulge in abhorrent acts such as ragging? It is better to remain illiterate and uneducated than indulging in such acts. Ragging is an inhuman thing. If a person is deriving pleasure by subjecting another human being to torture, it means he is suffering from mental illness. Youngsters must enjoy student life in a proper way not by indulging in ragging, the judge told the accused-students.

The Court was hearing a plea moved by the eight accused students who were seeking to quash the FIR registered against them. They claimed to have reached at a compromise with the victim. The victim, who was present in court, declined to escalate the matter further when the judge questioned him about whether he had reached the agreement as a result of external pressure.

When the students told the judge that it was a mistake and that they shall not repeat it any more, he asked: What more is there for you to not do? You have already done great harm. Do you even understand how much of pain that boy would have undergone?....

The victim's father also spoke with the judge, informing that the accused had visited their home with their parents and expressed sincere regret. And so, they decided reach a settlement for the sake of the accused students future. While quashing the FIR, the judge said that a detailed order would follow.

In November 2023, the Coimbatore police registered a criminal case against the accused for assaulting a junior student from their college, after the latter refused to give them money for liquor. According to the police, the accused had beaten the victim, tonsured his head with a trimmer and locked him in a room overnight.