UGC’s anti-ragging system has utterly failed, says Delhi High Court

In a strong rebuke to the University Grants Commission (UGC)’s current anti-ragging framework, the Delhi High Court has signalled that it may initiate a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) petition to address the recent surge in ragging incidents and student deaths across higher educational institutions.

According to the latest 2022 National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report, students accounted for 7.6% — or 13,044 — of all deaths by suicide in India, surpassing the combined toll among farmers and agricultural labourers. Last year, the UGC’s anti-ragging helpline recorded 1,084 complaints, the highest in the past nine years.

Also Read: Unending ordeal | On continuing acts of ragging

“This system has utterly failed. You have not been able to do anything. Except every other day, there is a news report of a student death,” a Bench of Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela observed on Friday (July 11, 2025) during the hearing on a petition filed by Aman Satya Kachroo Trust (ASKT), a non-governmental organisation.

Questioning the effectiveness of the UGC’s anti-ragging system, the court observed, “Spending ₹44 lakh yearly for overseeing the welfare of 35 million students across the country — how do you justify this? You have to open your coffers.”

“This issue of ragging appears to be very superficial, but if you ever met someone who has dropped out on account of ragging, only then you would realise. A person who [dies by] suicide, we are never able to interact with,” the court had earlier remarked.

Supreme Court rap

The development comes just months after the Supreme Court, in March this year, expressed concern that the existing UGC regulations on curbing ragging remained largely on paper.

“...news reports have pointed out that tangible actions have not been taken by the stakeholders other than mere formalities such as mandating undertakings from students and parents against indulging in ragging, and putting up no-ragging notices on university premises,” the Supreme Court had observed while ordering the registration of an FIR in the case of two students who ended their lives inside the campus of IIT, Delhi, in 2023.

It also directed the formation of a National Task Force to address the mental health concerns among students — a body which includes Mr. Aman Kachroo, founder of ASKT and father of Aman Kachroo, who died due to ragging in 2009.

Mental health crisis

A 2024 National Medical Commission survey of 37,000 postgraduate students revealed that 31% had suicidal thoughts, and 4.4% had attempted suicide within a year. Over 27% of postgraduates reported being ragged; 31% experienced abuse from faculty or seniors.

Data from the NCRB paint a grim picture. Of the total student deaths , 13.5% were reported in Maharashtra (1,764 ) followed by 10.9% in Tamil Nadu (1,416), 10.3% in Madhya Pradesh (1,340) and 8.1% in Uttar Pradesh (1,060). Delhi witnessed 385 suicides in 2022.

Advocate Indira Unninayar, appearing for ASKT, told the court that Mr. Kachroo played a major role in the conceptualisation and implementation of the National Ragging Prevention Programme (NRPP), a data-driven mechanism, in 2009 under the UGC supervision. Ms. Unninayar said the programme introduced several innovative features: a 24x7 dedicated student helpline, mandatory online affidavits to raise awareness, mechanisms to flag non-compliant institutions, and a non-governmental agency for independent monitoring.

Disturbing rise

The ASKT told the High Court that, while ragging incidents had declined dramatically since 2009, recent years have seen a disturbing reversal.

“Ragging complaints have risen sharply — from 883 in 2022 to 962 in 2023, and 1,084 already in 2024. Medical colleges are the worst-affected, accounting for 40% of all complaints,” Mr. Kachroo submitted to the court. “Worse, ragging-related deaths have doubled from an average of seven per year before 2022 to 17 per year after,” he informed the court.

Mr. Kachroo said the anti-ragging programme performed exceptionally well between 2012 and 2022 when the project was managed by his Trust. He claimed there was a reduction in ragging from 40% in 2009 to less than 5% in 2020, as per confidential surveys involving across 5,000 colleges.

No anonymous complaints

Pointing to dire conditions of the anti-ragging system today, Mr. Kachroo said that the helpline currently operates merely as a referral call centre, with access to case files discontinued after 2022 when the UGC selected another agency to manage the programme.

He said the current system does not allow anonymous complaints. Mr. Kachroo also pointed to the discontinuation of publication of annual confidential surveys, and other public domain reports. “They are playing with the lives of the students,” he added.

(Those in distress or having suicidal thoughts are encouraged to seek help and counselling by calling the helpline numbers here)