Cuttack: In an unusual order, the Orissa high court asked four students, facing charges of ragging, to teach inmates at an orphanage for one week. The high court set this condition while quashing an FIR against the accused.
The case was registered at Bharatpur police station in Bhubaneswar on March 15, 2024, against four senior students of a private law university for allegedly ragging and threatening a first year student with dire consequences. The victim’s father lodged the complaint.
Justice Sibo Sankar Mishra, in his judgment on Wednesday, acknowledged the settlement between the father of the victim and parents of the four accused students, who were also present in court. The incident took place due to misunderstanding and sudden provocation. However, upon repenting for the mischievous conduct committed by them, they apologised to the father of the victim, as stated in an affidavit filed in the court.
Taking it on record, Justice Mishra observed that the conduct of the petitioners (the four accused in the ragging case), who are students of law in the nascent stage of their career, “are highly objectionable.” “Therefore, while quashing the criminal case against the petitioners, this court feels it appropriate to direct the petitioners to volunteer at an orphanage of their choice for a period of one week where they will involve in teaching or conducting any workshop for the children studying in the orphanage,” Justice Mishra said in the order.
Justice Mishra specified that the petitioners “shall choose the orphanage and inform about the present order to the head of the orphanage and get a certification from the head of the orphanage after completion of their one-week teaching or conducting of workshop.” “The petitioners are required to furnish the certification of the orphanage head before this court within a period of four weeks,” Justice Mishra also specified, expressing hope that “the experience will nudge the impressionable youth present before me into a positive direction.”
While terming the conduct of the petitioners as “unbecoming of a student of law,” Justice Mishra emphasised that a good law student should transcend academic achievements to become a good lawyer who, besides having legal knowledge, supports the cause of the vulnerable, advocates for justice, and becomes a voice for the voiceless. “Upholding high standards of integrity, lawyers not only shape their professional career but also set an example as a model citizen,” said Justice Mishra.