In a decisive move, the Supreme Court has directed 16 government universities across the nation to provide comprehensive reports detailing incidents of ragging within their institutions over the past three years, along with the preventive measures implemented. The deadline for submission is set for November 10, 2023.
This directive stems from a Fundamental Rights (FR) petition lodged by Pasindu Harshana de Silva, who sought redress for the violation of his fundamental human rights. He sustained severe injuries as a first-year student at Sri Jayewardenepura University in a distressing incident involving senior students who dropped a large tire on him in 2020.
The petition was brought before a distinguished three-member Supreme Court panel comprising Justices Buwaneka Aluvihare, Shiran Gunaratne, and Priyantha Fernando on the 11th.
Senior State Counsel Avanthi Perera, representing the Attorney General, informed the court that the Attorney General has opted not to represent all state universities mentioned as respondents in the petition. Consequently, the relevant institutions will be notified to submit the required reports to the court through private legal representation.
However, the Attorney General will continue to represent the Inspector General of Police (IGP), University Grants Commission (UGC), and the Minister of Higher Education, who are also respondents in the case, she added.
Meanwhile, private attorneys representing Kelaniya, Sri Jayewardenepura, and Colombo universities requested the Supreme Court to extend the deadline for submitting the reports.
Advocating for the petitioner, President’s Counsel Shavindra Fernando emphasized that his client seeks no compensation. Instead, he urged the court to establish a set of guidelines to prevent such unfortunate incidents in universities in the future.
Consequently, the Supreme Court bench has scheduled the case for review on November 10, 2023, while also instructing 16 state universities, including Colombo, Kelaniya, Peradeniya, Vavuniya, Sabaragamuwa, and North-Western universities, to furnish the relevant reports on the specified date.
