HC allows students short in attendance to appear in exam

NEW DELHI; Offering relief to three law students who failed to attend all their lectures, the Delhi High Court on fridaydirected the Delhi University to allow them appear in the on-going LL.B exams.

The court accepted the three first-year law students' plea that they fell short of the mandatory attendance because of reasons beyond their control.

The relief would now allow them to appear in the exam for three subjects for LL.B students. The petitioners were debarred from appearing in the examination as they had failed to log 66 per cent attendance in classes, a prerequisite for appearing in LL.B examination.

According to Rule of Bar Council of India a student has to have minimum attendance of 66 percent in each subject and also in aggregate to be eligible for appearing in an exam.

Seeking relief for the students, advocate K C Mittal contended before Justice S Ravinder Bhat that the students were short of the mandatory attendance because of reasons beyond their control and it should be condoned.

After hearing the students' contention, the Court in an interim relief allowed them to appear in the remaining papers. The students have also challenged the rule of Bar Council of India (BCI) making 66 percent attendance mandatory. "By imposing the condition of 66 percent in the aggregate is arbitrary and unreasonable," Mittal contended.

The Court also issued notices to the University and the BCI and directed them to file their response within four weeks. The examinations for law students started on December 4 and would end on December 18