Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government has decided to introduce a new law to strengthen measures against ragging in colleges and professional educational institutions across the state. Chief Minister V D Satheesan announced the decision after the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

The proposed legislation will be named the Sidharthan Anti-Ragging and Student Welfare Act in memory of J S Sidharthan, the Wayanad veterinary college student who died by suicide in 2024 following an alleged ragging incident. The government will also launch the Sidharthan Student Distress App, enabling students to report ragging and seek immediate assistance from authorities.

Satheesan, who also holds the Finance portfolio, had first announced the two initiatives in the assembly while presenting the Revised Kerala Budget 2026–27. At the time, he said ragging and campus violence continued to be major concerns in higher educational institutions and discouraged student admissions.

"To prevent ragging in educational institutions in Kerala, the Sidharthan Student Distress App will be introduced, and the Sidharthan Anti-Ragging and Student Welfare Act will be enacted to prevent ragging and ensure student welfare," he had said in the Assembly.

J S Sidharthan, a 20-year-old second-year Bachelor of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry student at the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Pookode, Wayanad, was found dead on February 18, 2024. It is alleged that he died by suicide after being subjected to ragging and physical assault by a group of classmates and seniors.

Initially, the police registered a case against 18 persons under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Kerala Prohibition of Ragging Act, 1998. The investigation was later transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which named 19 accused in its final report, charging them under the Kerala Prohibition of Ragging Act and other relevant criminal provisions.

The Kerala High Court subsequently granted bail to the accused students. In December 2024, a single-judge bench also set aside their expulsion from the college, permitted them to seek re-admission at the Mannuthy campus, and ordered a fresh disciplinary inquiry into the incident.