The Punjab Educational Institutions (Prohibition of Ragging) Act, 2013

(1) This Act may be called the Punjab Educational Institutions (Prohibition of Ragging) Act, 2013. (2) It shall come into force at once.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, (a) "Act" means the Punjab Educational Institutions (Prohibition of Ragging) Act; (b) "Anti Ragging Committee" means a Committee as constituted in section 4; (c) "Appellate Authority" means a Authority as established in section 6; (d) "educational institution" means any University, College affiliated to or maintained by any University, any school imparting secondary education, or institution imparting Polytechnic, technical or medical education and includes such other institutions as may be notified by the State Government in the Official Gazette; (e) "Government" means the Government of Punjab in the Department of Higher Education and Languages; and (f) "ragging" means any act, conduct or practice by which dominant power of senior students, former students or outsiders, is brought to bear on students freshly enrolled or students, who are in any way considered junior by other students and includes individual or collective acts or practices which, (i) involve physical or psychological assault or threat or use of force or wrongful confinement or restraint; or (ii) violate the status, dignity and honour of such students; or (iii) expose students to ridicule and contempt and affect their self-esteem; or (iv) entail verbal abuse and aggression, indecent gestures and obscene behaviour.

No person shall practice ragging in any form, within or outside the premises of an educational institution.

(1) Every educational institution shall constitute an Anti Ragging Committee to hear and decide the complaints of ragging. (2) Any person feeling aggrieved of ragging may file a complaint in writing to the Anti Ragging Committee of the educational institution concerned. (3) After the receipt of the complaint referred to in sub-section (2), the Anti Ragging Committee shall send a copy of the complaint to the Head of the educational institution and proceed further in the matter and take decision within a period of fifteen days after affording an opportunity of being heard to the parties and the persons concerned and send a copy of its decision to the Head of the educational institution. (4) The Anti Ragging Committee shall decide a suitable punishment in each case if it is warranted by the facts of the case after the enquiry under sub-section (3). (5) The Head of the institution shall have to take action in accordance with such decision of the Committee within a period of one week from the date of the decision of the Anti Ragging Committee.

Notwithstanding anything contained in section 4, if an incident of ragging comes to the notice of the Head of the educational institution or the incident of ragging is brought to the notice of the Head of the educational institution by the Anti Ragging Committee or the parents or guardian of the student or any teacher of the educational institution or any other person in writing or otherwise, the Head of the educational institution shall intimate the same to the Anti Ragging Committee for enquiry and suitable action.

(1) An appeal may be filed to the Appellate Authority against the decision of the Anti Ragging Committee by the aggrieved person within a period of twenty-one days from the date of the receipt of the decision of the Anti Ragging Committee. (2) The Appellate Authority shall consist of the following officers, namely: (i) Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Punjab; (ii) Secretary, Department of Technical Education and Industrial Training, Punjab; (iii) Secretary, Department of Medical Education and Research, Punjab. (3) The senior most officer from amongst the officers referred to in sub-section (2), shall preside over the meeting of the Appellate Authority. (4) The Appellate Authority shall decide the appeal within a period of three month from the date of filing the appeal after affording an opportunity of being heard to the person/persons concerned and send a copy of its decision to the Head of the educational institution. (5) The order of the Appellate Authority shall be final and binding on all the educational institutions and Anti Ragging Committees of such education institutions.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary provided in any other law for the time being in force, the State Government may, in public interest, by order in writing for reasons to be recorded therein, give to the educational institutions general instructions to be followed by such institutions for the prevention of ragging.

The State Government may, by notification published in the Official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act.

Every rule made under section 8 of this Act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before the Legislative Assembly, while it is in session for a total period of not less than ten days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if before the expiry of the session in which it is so laid or the sessions aforesaid, the Assembly makes any modification in the rule, or decides that the rule should not be made, the rule shall, thereafter, have effect only in such modified form. However, any such modification shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule.