Thiruvananthapuram | Kerala Assembly Speaker A N Shamseer on Wednesday directed the government to examine in detail whether amendments are required in its anti-ragging law in view of the prevailing circumstance of rising instances of ragging in institutions in the state.

The Chair, in its ruling, also directed the state government to examine the need of framing rules for the effective implementation of the Kerala Prohibition of Ragging Act which was passed in 1998, saying that the matter "requires urgent consideration".

Shamseer also observed that instances of ragging have changed since the time the law was enacted in 1998 as they have become more violent and cruel.

The directions from the Speaker came following Congress MLA A P Anil Kumar pointing out in the House that 27 years after the passage of the anti-ragging law, no rules have been framed yet for its implementation.

Kumar said that as per the conduct of business rules of the House, once a law is passed and published in the gazette, rules for its implementation have to be drafted and placed before the subject committee within 90 days of publication.

"However, here, even after 27 years, no steps have been taken to frame the rules. It is a serious failure. It is also a serious violation of several past rulings by the Chair to expedite the process of rule making and the House rules.

"Not framing the rules even after 27 years have gone by since enactment of the law, defeats the purpose of the legislation," the MLA said in the Assembly.

He urged the Speaker to direct the government to frame the rules within 30 days.

The issue pointed out by Kumar was welcomed by state Law Minister P Rajeev who, speaking on behalf of the chief minister, said that when the law was enacted, it was seen that it can be implemented even without framing the rules.

He conceded that in the present circumstances, the government was ready to consider examining whether the law needs to be revisited for making changes to it or if rules need to be framed for making its implementation more effective.

The minister said that directions have also come from the Kerala High Court on this issue and the government will take the appropriate steps to address it.

The Kerala High Court had, earlier this month, emphasised the need for a "strong legal foundation" to address the rising incidents of ragging in the state.

It had directed the government to form a working group to draft rules for implementing the anti-ragging law.

The court had also noted that the Kerala Prohibition of Ragging Act was passed in 1998, yet no rules had been framed in the 27 years since its enactment.

"If the state is serious about implementing the 1998 Act, mere declarations are not enough. A functional working mechanism, typically laid down in rules, must be established. Along with the statute, framing rules is equally important because a law without proper rules cannot be effectively enforced," it had said.

The court's direction came while hearing a petition filed by the Kerala State Legal Services Authority (KeLSA) seeking effective implementation of anti-ragging laws and establishment of a monitoring mechanism in the wake of several reported incidents of ragging in various institutions in the state.