The Delhi High Court has raised alarm over the deteriorating condition of anti-ragging mechanisms in colleges and universities, particularly emphasizing the urgent need for a fully functional anti-ragging helpline to prevent student suicides. A bench comprising Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyay and Justice Anish Dayal considered submissions from the Aman Satya Kachroo Trust, founded by the father of Aman Kachroo—a medical student who died by ragging in 2009. The Trust’s petition detailed how several core components of India’s anti-ragging framework devised by the University Grants Commission (UGC) have been weakened or dismantled since 2022.
According to the petition, complaint numbers have been steadily increasing in recent years while measures such as anonymous complaint options, annual surveys, real-time tracking of ragging incidents, and careful monitoring have been curtailed. The Trust submitted that the anti-ragging helpline, once expected to serve as a central, responsive tool, now functions largely as a referral centre. Complainants no longer have access to prior case materials or live tracking which earlier gave credibility and transparency to the process. It was further claimed that the helpline’s role has shifted away from immediate action or intervention, undermining its effectiveness when students are in distress.
The High Court was presented with statistics illustrating the gravity of the situation: rising student suicides and dropouts linked to ragging and harassment. The Trust pointed out that between 2022 and 2024, the number of complaints had increased each year, while essential components of anti-ragging oversight have fallen away. The Trust urged that without restoring such preventive mechanisms, more students would suffer needlessly under harassment that could drive them to self-harm or even suicide.
Responding to these arguments, the Court noted the severity of the issue and raised its own concerns. The judges emphasized that strong preventive tools—including a responsive helpline—are vital to alert authorities in real time when students fear for their safety. The Court observed that when students are subjected to ragging, especially in situations where they feel powerless or isolated, they require accessible channels to cry out for help. Without such channels, distress may go unreported until it is tragically too late.
The Court also questioned the adequacy of UGC’s oversight and implementation of earlier anti-ragging regulations. It suggested that regulatory bodies must not treat such protections as mere formalities filled with paperwork, advertisements, or disclaimers. Rather, the Court underlined that anti-ragging initiatives must be enforced, monitored, and continuously evaluated for effectiveness. Features such as anonymous reporting, timely helpline response, and data transparency were singled out as essential and non-negotiable.
During the hearings, the Court indicated an intention to initiate a suo motu public interest petition to monitor the state of anti-ragging mechanisms nationally. It requested the UGC to submit detailed data on suicides, dropouts, investigations and outcomes in ragging complaints over recent years. The Bench also urged restoration of the tools and safeguards that had been rolled back, particularly those enabling students to report harassment without fear and access timely support when mental health or safety is jeopardized.
The High Court’s observations highlight a broader recognition that legal protection or regulatory provisions alone are insufficient if preventive support systems, including helplines and rapid intervention mechanisms, are not upheld. The judiciary has, in this case, called for urgent corrective steps to ensure that students are not left vulnerable, with bureaucracy or regulatory neglect standing between them and safety.
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