Newly admitted students of IIULER Goa subjected to ragging

The 2023-28 batch at the India International University of Legal Education and Research (IIULER), Goa has issued a statement acknowledging that newly admitted first-year students were ragged on campus.

The statement issued on August 11 says that on August 9, newly admitted students "were intimidated, physically assaulted, and treated in ways that violated their dignity, in their very first days on campus."

The statement acknowledged that those responsible were members of the same batch and added that they were not defending, excusing or minimising what had happened.

"Seniority does not give any student authority over another student's body, dignity, or safety. What happened was not tradition, initiation, or harmless mischief. It was wrong, and we say so plainly and together," the statement said.

Accountability for the incident, the statement said, rested with the University's official inquiry which they would not interfere with or pre-empt.

When contacted by Bar & Bench, IIULER's Assistant Public Relations Officer (APRO) Rajnish said that the University was not aware of any such incident.

Attempts to reach IIULER Vice-Chancellor Prof (Dr) R Venkata Rao for a statement did not bear fruit.

The alleged incident and the statement come two days after IIULER hosted Deeksharambh, its orientation day event for the incoming Batch of 2026, at which Bar Council of India (BCI) Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra announced that a National Legal Academy for compulsory lawyer training would be set up on IIULER's campus.