Kerala High Court Summons Law Secretary To Explain Delay In Tabling Anti-Ragging Bill Before State Cabinet

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday (March 31) directed the Law Secretary to appear before it and explain the delay in tabling the Kerala Prohibition of Ragging (Amendment) Bill, 2025 before the State Cabinet.

The Division Bench of Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice C. Jayachandran was considering a public interest litigation moved by KeLSA (Kerala State Legal Services Authority), seeking stronger laws to combat the menace of ragging within educational institutions.

During the last posting, the Court had directed the State to set a deadline for submission of remarks by the concerned departments to expedite the process of finalising the Bill into law.

According, when the matter came up today, the State informed that the Bill has to be approved by the Cabinet, which cannot meet now since the Model Code of Conduct is presently in force in the State due to the upcoming elections.

The Court then orally inquired, "Since the last hearing any steps have been taken? Approval of the Cabinet would come later. But remarks from the various departments, their views. Various departments were supposed to give their inputs. So that will not stand in the way of, that will only facilitate the Cabinet to take a decision. So whether that has been completed or not?"

In response, it was informed that all inputs have been received except that from the General Education department. Hearing the same, Justice Sen orally remarked:

"Why the response from that department has not come? That department has something to say. What is the present status? We wanted to know the present status...They cannot say that we will not give our views...Government should have set a deadline for the submission of remarks by all the departments. So the entire process can be expedited...This cannot go on indefinitely. This could have been tabled before the Cabinet before the Code of Conduct."

The Court then passed an interim order seeking explanation from the Law Secretary for the delay:

"We were given an impression on the last posting that the Bill would be placed before the Cabinet at the earliest and now it is contended that by reason of coming into force of the Model Code of Conduct, Cabinet meeting is not possible. We wonder why the Bill could not have been placed before the Cabinet prior to the declaration of the Model Code of Conduct...We direct the Law Secretary to be present physically or virtually on the adjourned date and offer an explanation for not placing the Bill of which all inputs by this time have been received before the Cabinet. The present status of the Bill shall also be disclosed."

The case is posted now on Tuesday (April 7).

Case Title: Kerala State Legal Service Authority v. Government of Kerala and Others

Case No: WP(C) No. 8600 of 2025