As a concerned citizen and also being a bona fide student of SRM UNIVERSITY;  I am filing this petition considering it to be at the best interest of “The Academic Council”, “The Controller of Examinations (Dr. S. Ponnusamy)” and other Managing and Directing Committee Members concerned and associated with “SRM UNIVERSITY, CHENNAI, TAMIL NADU, INDIA”.

  Lately, during onset of this year we have witnessed two suicides committed by students of college/university level; an unnatural form of death which was stimulated through one or more pre-approved punishments / penalties that were impelled on the victim due to his misconduct/ malpractice in the University Examinations.

Refer News 1: https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/srm-university-student-commits-suicide-chennai-75212

or

Refer News 2: https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/231117/girls-suicide-tension-on-sathyabama-university-campus.html

This conforms to the fact which suggests that, one or more of these punishments or penalties has a high stimulating potential drive to cause threat to a student’s life and other psychological episodes and henceforth it needs to be reformed before it cycles back and links to more catastrophic events.

I am now highlighting the current punishments / penalties that are currently being practiced in SRM UNIVERSITY as of January 2018 for all regulations;

 
PRIORITY-WISE LISTING (CURRENT PENALTIES / PUNISHMENTS)

1. Cancellation of examination for all the subjects that the candidate has appeared for in that particular semester; ^^irrespective of the examination or subject in which the student was liable for misconduct/malpractice^^ which will be treated as an arrear to which the student has to reappear in the next following semester or after completion of 4/5 academic years depending on the course after paying a hefty fine amount. 
2. Fine Amount of Rs. 10,000/- (mostly imposed) or Rs. 5,000/- (rarely imposed).
3. Parents are supposed to be called to adhere to a meeting where they have to write a letter of undertaking that their ward must and should not commit any such misconduct/malpractice in the future.

Of the highlighted part, following are the suggested proposals that are recommended (as a part of this petition) and are supposed to bring down the severity of the damages and impacts caused in a student’s life due to the current regulations and would serve its part for punishment or penalty in more of a principled way and would predominantly reduce the probability or any chances of such misfortune in future. 

PRIORITY-WISE LISTING (PROPOSED REFORMS)

1.  Cancellation of examination for only and only that very subject in which the student is liable of misconduct/malpractice and no other examinations apart from the subject examination he is found liable for. 
2. Fine Amount to be reduced to Rs. 2,500/- (mostly imposed) or Rs. 1000/- (rarely imposed).
3. Parents are to be informed about the situation through phone call/sms/e-mail/letter whichever found suitable and the student has to write the undertaking letter that they would not commit any such misconduct/ malpractice in future rather than the parent writing the same. 

I believe that these highlighted parts should be moderated accordingly as cited above in more of an ethical way rather than posing a complete menace to the student’s mind which mostly results in getting panic attacks, anxiety disorders, depressions, PTSD and suicides.

Please understand that the outcome or aftermath of this punishment / penalty is to make the student abstain from any such immoral or fraudulent activities and to refrain from committing into any such activities further rather than bringing about suicidal thoughts and tendencies that cause psychological damage and loss of life.