No law student can be barred from taking exam due to lack of minimum attendance: Delhi HC

New Delhi, Nov 3 (PTI) No law college or university can bar students from taking examinations due to lack of minimum attendance, the Delhi High Court ruled on Monday and directed the Bar Council of India to re-evaluate the mandatory attendance norms.

The high court, in the significant order, said it was of the strong view that attendance norms for education in general, and legal education in particular, cannot be made so stringent that they lead to mental trauma, let alone the death of a student.

The court passed the judgment while disposing of a suo motu petition, initiated by the Supreme Court and transferred to the high court, in relation to the death of law student Sushant Rohilla by suicide in 2016 after allegedly being barred from sitting for the semester exams due to lack of requisite attendance.

"Legal education does not merely require rote-learning or one-sided teaching. It has various dimensions to it, such as knowledge of law, practical application of the law and implementation thereof. To obtain such holistic education, mere presence in classrooms is neither required, nor can be sufficient," a bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Amit Sharma said in a 122-page judgment.

The court said classroom education has to be coupled with practical training, knowledge of court and prison systems, legal aid, and gaining practical experience through moot courts, seminars and model parliament.

"These activities need to be weaved into the legal curriculum in a manner that ensures multi-dimensional learning and training of law students, which would not be possible with strict mandatory attendance requirements.

"Thus, sufficient flexibility in marking of attendance to promote participation in multifarious areas of learning in law school is essential to inculcate a growth mindset in budding law students," it said.

Rohilla, a third-year law student of Amity Law School, had hanged himself at his home here on August 10, 2016, after his college allegedly barred him from sitting for the semester exams due to lack of requisite attendance. He left behind a note, saying he was a failure and did not wish to live.

The high court said even if attendance may not have been the only factor leading to the unfortunate incident and was just a contributing factor, the loss of the life of a young boy could not have come at the behest of such norms.

"There are several other cases of suicide by students over the years which have been connected to mandatory attendance requirements, mental health crisis arising from the pressure to meet such attendance requirements and other related issues," it said.

The court directed that it would be mandatory for all educational institutions and universities to constitute grievance redressal committees (GRCs)in terms of the University Grants Commission regulations, 2023.

Observing that GRCs are for safeguarding the interests of students, including their mental health, the bench directed the UGC to initiate consultations and consider amending the UGC regulations.

"BCI shall undertake a re-evaluation of the mandatory attendance norms for the 3-year and 5-year LLB courses in India...,” it said.

The court said BCI should incorporate the modification of attendance norms to enable giving credit to moot courts, seminars, model parliament, debates and attending court hearings.

It should also undertake consultation with students, parents and teachers for this purpose expeditiously to safeguard the life and mental health of students.

"Keeping in mind the debilitating impact on students at detention or non-appearance in exams due to mandatory attendance requirements can have, while the consultations by the BCI are underway, in the interregnum, it is directed as under, no student enrolled in any recognised law college university or institution in India shall be detained from taking examination or be prevented from further academic pursuits of career progression on the ground of lack of minimum attendance," the court said.

It added that no law college, university or institution should be permitted to mandate attendance norms over and above the minimum percentage prescribed by the BCI under the Legal Education Rules.

The bench directed all BCI recognised law colleges and universities to implement accelerative measures, including weekly notification of attendance of students to online portal or a mobile app, monthly notice to parents or legal guardians on shortage in attendance, conducting extra physical or online classes for such students who do not fulfil the minimum attendance norms, with immediate effect.

"If at the end of a semester, a student still does not qualify the prescribed attendance norms, the college/ university cannot bar the student from taking the examination," the court said.

It added that the student should be permitted to take the semester examination. However, in the final result, the grade of the student would be permitted to be reduced by a maximum of 5 per cent in case of marks being awarded and by 0.33 per cent in case of the CGPA system.

"Merely on shortage of attendance, promotion to the next semester shall not be withheld. BCI shall take into consideration these measures as part of its consultation process while finalising its norms for legal education," the court said.

It said that a September 2024 circular issued by the BCI regarding biometric attendance and installation of CCTV cameras in all centres of legal education across India should not be given effect to. PTI SKV RT