The Kerala High Court has directed the state government not to delay the anti-looting law, ending the menace of looting.
This comes after the government announced that the bill is pending with the legal department pending finalization of aspects such as punishing offenders. The court gave a week’s time to complete the matter and posted the case for further hearing on December 17.
The High Court on October 30 directed the state government to complete all steps within four weeks to bring the Kerala Prohibition of Raging (Amendment) Bill, 2025 before the Assembly. This comes after a public interest litigation was filed by the Kerala Legal Services Authority (KeLSA) seeking stricter laws to combat the menace posed by looting in educational institutions in the wake of a spate of looting-related incidents in the state, including one in which a student died.
On October 30, the government submitted to the court that the file on the matter would be sent to the legal department and then presented to the Council of Ministers.
The bill proposed the establishment of committees, sections and mentoring cells in all educational institutions as well as cells in all police stations. It specifies that the head of the institution will decide within 24 hours of receiving a tip or complaint of misconduct whether a clear case is made for registering a first tip and take further action. A student accused of looting will be suspended immediately. The anti-tampering committee, headed by the head of the department, includes faculty members, non-teaching staff, senior and freshman students, parents, representatives of civil and police administration, local media and non-governmental organizations dealing with youth issues.
Published – 10 Dec 2025 20:41 IST
