( 1 ) THIS public interest litigation was initiated by Sri Pratul Kumar Sinha, an Advocate and a social activist before the Supreme Court by way of writ application under Article 32 of the Constitution of India. He referred to the age old practice of ragging prevalent in Engineering, Medical Colleges and also in some other Colleges in India where the fresher 1st year students had to face ragging by the senior students in the shape of mental and physical cruelty and acts of violence. He submitted that usually the period of ragging continued in between 1 and 3 months from the very beginning of the session of the new entrant in the institution. Because of the psychological pressure and even physical violence many students have to give up their studies. He wanted that this evil system of ragging should be eradicated from the education system altogether. He was of the view that neither the Government nor the college authorities took adequate and proper or effective steps for combating the evil of ragging.

( 2 ) HE referred to an incident of 1st August, 1991 which happened in one of the hostels of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur over which there were ne