Calcutta High Court: To get Writers? cracking

Calcutta, Jan. 31: The high court today asked the government to file a report on the alleged circulation of alcohol, ganja, drugs and blue-films in residential educational institutions across the state.

The division bench of acting Chief Justice Altmas Kabir and Justice Asit Kumar Bishi also asked the education department to find out whether the allegations had merit in them.

The directives followed the hearing of a public interest litigation moved by an advocate, Tapas Bhanja, alleging that even after having enacted a law against ragging, the government was not taking any action.

The incident at the Hooghly Institute of Technology last year, in which a first-year girl was forced to consume alcohol and smoke, prompted Bhanja to move the PIL.

Six students were suspended after the victim lodged an official complaint. But the girl and her friends were also transferred from the college in Chinsurah.

In his petition, Bhanja alleged that the government had failed to stop regular consumption of ganja, liquor and drugs or viewing of pornographic films by students in residential institutions.

He prayed for a court order directing the state chief secretary and director of school education to visit residential institutions to conduct an inquiry. ?If the court orders an independent inquiry, my allegations will be found true,? the petitioner claimed.

However, the government pleader, Robilal Moitra, told the court Bhanja?s allegations were ?baseless?. He added: ?I don?t think our educational institutions are that bad.?

Moitra assured the court that the government would place a proper picture of the scenario.

He submitted a report in the court today saying that following an earlier order, the education department had sent a notice to all 544 residential institutions in the state declaring that students would be punished in accordance with law if found guilty of ragging.

The government also issued circulars to 55 engineering colleges across the state during the admission session to prevent alleged circulation of drugs among students.

The education department, in its report before the court, attached the copy of West Bengal Prohibition of Ragging (in educational institution) Act 2002.

?The department is maintaining strict vigil so that students found guilty of ragging could be punished properly,? said the report.