Accident survivor denied permission to sit for exam: A month after filling complaint, father awaits MU response

A month after registering a complaint with Mumbai University (MU) against Narsee Monjee College of Commerce and Economics for not allowing his son Siddharth Juyal, a survivor of an accident on Bandra Worli Sea Link, for BCom first year exam due to lack of attendance, Manish Juyal is still awaiting a response

Mumbai: A month after registering a complaint with Mumbai University (MU) against Narsee Monjee College of Commerce and Economics for not allowing his son Siddharth Juyal, a survivor of an accident on Bandra Worli Sea Link, for BCom first year exam due to lack of attendance, Manish Juyal is still awaiting a response.

Accident survivor denied permission to sit for exam: A month after filling complaint, father awaits MU response

While Siddharth has started attending classes for his next semester, Manish said the MU has not responded to his complaint and the college too has been adamant.

“No action will lead Siddharth losing an academic year for no fault of his. Although Siddharth is attending classes for his next semester, he still has to clear the earlier semester. More the delay, chances of him losing a year are higher,” Manish said.

“We had informed the college via email on October 9 about the accident and his injuries and the reason behind his absence from the college,” Manish added.

HT had reported on December 17 on how Siddharth was not allowed to appear for the semester end examinations because of attendance shortfall and was asked to repeat the semester in the next academic year 2023-24.

On December 15, the first day of the semester exam, Manish had met the principal with Siddharth’s medical reports but did not get any relief. He later registered a complaint with both the NM College and Mumbai University’s redressal of grievance/s cell.

Siddharth, a resident of Parel, was in a four-wheeler along with Mohammed Rayyan Patel (18) and Shane Joseph Portugal (18) on the fateful night when the accident took place.

Their car had a breakdown on the sea link. While the car breakdown was being attended, another four-wheeler crashed into them. Juyal took more than 25 days to recover after the mishap.

“He was advised bed rest till October 28. We had a clear communication with the college about his attendance,” the father said. According to the college, Siddharth’s average attendance has been 52%.

While the college continued to say that Siddharth’s medical certificates were taken into consideration and as per rules, he was not allowed to sit for the exam. An official from the university said that they will be holding a hearing on the same in the first week of March. “We will be calling both the parents and the principal of NM College and look into the complaint,” he said.