Bullying in Indian Schools: Lacuna in Child Protection Laws and the Need for Legislative Reforms

Abstract

One of the major fast-growing matter of concern in the domain of child protection in India is peer bullying in schools. It has been documented to range from 18% to 70% across regional studies, and is linked to depression, anxiety, academic failure, social withdrawal, and suicidal ideation among victim children. In spite of the presence of a convincing empirical evidence, India has no statute addressing this issue at the school level or otherwise. This also includes the failure to define bullying, and to categorise bullying as a criminal offence. Neither does the framework establishes an enforceable accountability mechanism for perpetrators or institutions. The Central Board of Secondary Education's (CBSE) Anti-Bullying Guidelines (2015) and the University Grants Commission (UGC) Regulations on Curbing the Menace of Ragging in Higher Educational Institutions (2009) are the only policy response to this matter.  But, neither of them is a primary legislation, nor creates any criminal liability, and most importantly, they are not entirely applicable on India's school system. This article undertakes a socio-legal analysis of this legislative gap. The absence of a statutory definition of school bullying, the non-binding nature of existing school-level regulatory instruments, and the structural inadequacy of current provisions to address cumulative peer psychological abuse, all make up a systemic failure of India's child protection framework. Drawing on comparative analysis of the United Kingdom's Education and Inspections Act 2006 and the Department for Education's statutory guidance framework, the article proposes legislative reforms and recommendations suitable to the Indian institutional context.