Bullying: a Road to Suicide
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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LEGAL ENFORCEMENT ISSN: 2582 8894|UIA: AA1003/2020 Volume 1 Issue 2 |June 2021| Website: www.internationaljournaloflegalenforcement-ijle.com Email: [email protected] 2 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LEGAL ENFORCEMENT ISSN: 2582 8894|UIA: AA1003/2020 About Us International Journal of Legal Enforcement is an online peer review journal dedicated to express views on legal and socio legal aspects. This platform also shall ignite the initiative of the young students. We do not charge any publication charge for online publications. We process to bring out the analysis and thoughts of every socio legal and legal matters from the young powerful minds. With this thought we hereby present you, International Journal of Legal Enforcement. “Dharma is to protect the Needy” 3 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LEGAL ENFORCEMENT ISSN: 2582 8894|UIA: AA1003/2020 Research Article on BULLYING: A ROAD TO SUICIDE Anchal Kashyap Student, JIMS ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT TECHNICAL CAMPUS SCHOOL OF LAW (AFFILIATED TO GGSIP UNIVERSITY) Arunim Kathuria Student, JIMS ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT TECHNICAL CAMPUS SCHOOL OF LAW (AFFILIATED TO GGSIP UNIVERSITY) 4 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LEGAL ENFORCEMENT ISSN: 2582 8894|UIA: AA1003/2020 INTRODUCTION “BULLIES DON’T LIKE TO FIGHT, SON. THEY LIKE TO WIN. THE ONLY FIGHT YOU REALLY HAVE TO FIGHT IS ONE AGAINST THE FEAR.”1 Bullying, a worse practice done by one or more than one individual to an innocent one. Just because the innocent one can’t do anything, so the defaulters commit such practice. If we define this word bullying, it implies an act done by any defaulter in order to harm, intimidate, or coerce that particular act for sudden or grave provocation. Bullying can be in any form, either verbal, physical or mental. We all have been promoted from schools, or some of the readers might be in schools, we all have noticed the practice of Bullying by naughty kids to innocent kids. This practice directly affects the mental health of a child from the grass root level itself. The problem of fear, depression and negativity easily attacks the minds of the children and at the very early stage, they decide to harm themselves by committing suicide. The confidence, which is embedded in themselves results totally a big Zero. And as usual, their self-esteem is estimated to be a big loss to their future. As we all are aware of the fact that bullying and ragging are one of the same things. In case of schools, it is defined as Bullying and in case of colleges, it is known as Ragging. If we see in many colleges, it is mentioned that our campus is an anti-ragging campus, and some of the colleges are very firm towards it. If they have declared that their campus is Anti-ragging, then they will make sure that no illicit practice is happening in that campus. We all must have listened to some of the common words, used by the bullies to the innocent ones, “MEET ME OUTSIDE, I’M GONNA SEE YOU'', “WATCH YOUR STANDARD AND THEN TALK, YOU'RE SO POOR YOU CAN’T STAND IN FRONT OF US'', etc. if we see these bullies from their personal context, they are not as much strong as they pretend. They only take advantage of the innocence and they start bullying the person. As a result of which, the innocent one is not able to concentrate in his/her studies and don’t join their colleges, because of this fear only. 1 Kwane Alexander 5 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LEGAL ENFORCEMENT ISSN: 2582 8894|UIA: AA1003/2020 TRADITIONAL APPROACH “The traditional approach to bullying in educational institution and workplace has been to set it aside, with excuses such as ‘boys will be boys' or ‘men don't complain', “men are strong” though it is possible that bullying which involves alarming or the threat of violence could trigger the offence of assault2 or battery3”. “Examples of bullying which do not pretend to a traditional criminal offence are, classmates calling a schoolboy ‘fat' or ‘stupid' or an employee being shouted at by a senior or superior officer. When classmates threaten or rough up another in the school yard or when a subordinate is threatened with the imminent application of force or is slapped, an offence is committed, though such actions usually go unpunished” “As more and more women enter workplaces, women become targets for bullying in such workplaces. At times, bullying takes the form of sexual harassment”. STEPS TAKEN BY CENTRAL BOARD OF SECONDARY EDUCATION (CBSE) TO STOP BULLYING Our well renowned board of examination CBSE had appointed bullying committees to stop it. Anti-Bullying Committees “In 2015, due to rising cases of bullying in schools, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)4, issued guidelines for the prevention of bullying which included the mandatory setting up of Anti-Bullying committees in schools. These committees would 2 “Section 351 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 - Whoever makes any gesture, or any preparation intending or knowing it to be likely that such gesture or preparation will cause any person present to apprehend that he who makes that gesture or preparation is about to use criminal force to that person, is said to commit an assault” 3 “section 350 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 - Whoever intentionally uses force to any person, without that person's consent, in order to the committing of any offence, or intending by the use of such force to cause, or knowing it to be likely that by the use of such force he will cause injury, fear or annoyance to the person to whom the force is used, is said to use criminal force to that other” 4 “Cbse.nic.in” 6 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LEGAL ENFORCEMENT ISSN: 2582 8894|UIA: AA1003/2020 comprise of the vice-principal, a senior teacher, school doctor, counsellor, parent-teacher representative, school management representative, legal representative and peer educators”. The roles and responsibilities of this committee would include: ● “Development and review of School Bullying Prevention Plan, ● Development and implementing bullying prevention programs, ● Developing training programs for staff, students, and parents, ● Creating awareness through various programs, ● Being vigilant and observing signs of bullying and responding quickly and sensitively. Names and contact numbers of members of the committee should be clearly exhibited everywhere in the school premises, etc.” BULLYING DONE IN COLLEGES Bullying is practice done at the college too. So in order to stop this scrupulous activity, the head of all the colleges named as The University Grants Commission (Hereafter, UGC), on account of increasing bullying-related suicides, issued “a landmark notification in 2009” to curb rampant ragging throughout higher-education institutions in India. UGC has 3 amendments made to the circular, and it remains the primary government statute which pertains to ragging in higher education institutions. Definitions “The UGC has given three definitions of ragging, they go as follows: 1. Any disorderly conduct whether orally or written or by an act which has the effect of teasing, treating or harassing a fresher or a junior student. 2. Indulging in an undisciplined activity which causes or is likely to cause annoyance, harm or to raise fear or anxiety thereof in a fresher or a junior student. 7 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LEGAL ENFORCEMENT ISSN: 2582 8894|UIA: AA1003/2020 3. Asking the students to do any act or perform something which such student will not do in the ordinary course and which has the effect of causing or generating a sense of shame or embarrassment so as to adversely affect the physique or Psyche of a fresher or a junior student.” PROVISIONS OF INDIAN PENAL CODE WITH THE CONTEXT OF BULLYING The college students, who are major (18 years or above), must be aware of the following provisions of the code: “Section 506 (Punishment for criminal intimidation)5 Criminal intimidation is an act in which a person threatens any other individual either to body, reputation or property, and in return coerces him/her to do any illegal or heinous act or any routine act, that he would normally do. As per the provision of section 506, the offender shall be punished with imprisonment for 2 years or more than 2 years, with fine also imposed”. Also, if the offender has threatened the other person to cause grievous hurt, or to cause destruction of the house by means of fire, the punishment must be imprisonment for life or it may extend up to 7 years or more with fine. “SECTION 323- 326 (punishments for voluntarily causing hurt, grievous hurt, by the means of dangerous weapons): These sections are in respect of the offenders who cause these heinous crimes. We are relating these sections in respect of bullying or threatening done by the bad students who are in colleges (18 years or above). Almost every serious case of ragging involves causing hurt of some kind to another person voluntarily and in full knowledge of his/her actions. We all might have seen in many of the colleges that some of the innocent students are being ragged or bullied by naughty students by physical means, or by using sharp or dangerous weapons. So, the punishment for these crimes, as mentioned in the sections 323-326, commonly all the punishments amount to either imprisonment of life or it may extend to the maximum period of 10 years”. 5 https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1569253/ 8 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LEGAL ENFORCEMENT ISSN: 2582 8894|UIA: AA1003/2020 “Section 306: abetment to suicide: This is also a common section under which ragging wrongdoers are charged. Many students from around the country are driven to committing suicide because they are exposed to such serious forms of violent and abusive behaviour by their seniors in college.