Kochi, March 4 : The Kerala High Court said on Tuesday that it will constitute a special bench to hear ragging cases in the state.

A division bench of Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice S. Manu pronounced the order while considering a PIL filed by the Kerala State Legal Service Authority (KeLSA) to curb the issue of ragging in the state.

"Tomorrow, we will take it up with the other Bench. Time will be notified," the Court said.

The state came under a siege when two ragging cases made headlines in Kerala, first when Sidharthan, a second-year student at the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences in Pookode, Wayanad, was found dead in the hostel on February 18, 2024, after being tortured by his seniors and batch mates.

A total of 19 students have been charged for multiple offences, including abetment to suicide and ragging.

Likewise, last month, five senior students of the state-run Nursing College at Kottayam were sent to jail for brutally ragging a junior student.

Apart from these cases, there have been other incidents also. In their PIL, KeLSA highlighted the recently reported incidents of ragging in the colleges in the state and sought the formation of district-level and state-level monitoring committees to ensure effective implementation of the existing anti-ragging laws.

KeLSA has also put forward the suggestion of conducting training programmes for educational authorities, teachers and student representatives to help them identify early signs of ragging and create awareness of the relevant legal framework.

Amid increasing ragging cases, Kerala BJP president K. Surendran has said they will constitute a special cell in all the 14 districts of the state to curb ragging and anyone can approach their cell with such complaints.

/IANS