It is not often that youth who have messed up get a chance to clean up their act.

But a novel judgment from the Madras High Court has given a group of 28 engineering students, charged with rioting and criminal intimidation, a chance to mend their ways — by actually mopping up a mess!

The order on Monday from Justice A.D. Jagadish Chandira of the Madurai Bench of the High Court, came on a plea from the students to quash the FIR registered against them.

The judge directed the students to clean the general ward of the K.A.P. Viswanatham Government Medical College in Tiruchi.

In a case of campus violence, two groups of students of the Oxford Engineering College at Pirattiyur in Tiruchi had attacked each other with with beer bottles and wooden logs in July last year. The violence left at least five students injured.

According to the police, the violence followed a warning from fourth year students to a group of third year students against eve teasing of fellow women students. What began as a warning turned into a wordy duel and soon escalated into a clash, and even spilled outside the campus.

All 28 students were arrested by the police based on separate complaints filed by both groups. The E. Pudur police registered a case under IPC Sections, including 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting armed with deadly weapon), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means) and 506 (ii) (criminal intimidation).

A compromise

However, the two groups, having agreed to compromise, moved the High Court and sought the quashing of the FIR.

Justice Jagadish Chandira, who quashed the FIR, then directed the students to approach the Dean of the K.A.P. Viswanatham Government Medical College and the clean the general ward on February 22.

He also posted the case for reporting compliance on February 26.