HC: Can’t condone lack of attendance in college

The Delhi High Court has ruled that it cannot condone the lack of attendance while it rejected the petition of a student barred from appearing in an examination for not having the requisite attendance.

The Delhi High Court has ruled that it cannot condone the lack of attendance while it rejected the petition of a student barred from appearing in an examination for not having the requisite attendance.

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“If students want to appear in the examination without attending classes, they have open schools and other institutes, that do not insist upon attendance, available to them,” ruled Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw. If the student joins an institute where attendance is a must, they must attend classes. If they do not, the court won’t indulge them in any manner, he said. The court was hearing a petition filed by a student of a one-year diploma course in Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga.

Appearing for the institute, advocate RM Bagai said: “The petitioner was required to attend minimum 80% of theory and 80% of practical classes. The rules further provide that students with attendance below 80% would not be eligible for appearing in the examination.”

The petitioner’s counsel V Shekhar contended that she had 83% attendance in theory and 69% attendance in practicals. He said that his client’s home was far from the institute and she used to get late for practical classes scheduled at 7am by about 10 to 15 minutes and her attendance was not marked.

Justice Endlaw said, “The attendance sheets…were signed by the students themselves...the very fact that the petitioner did not sign the attendance shows she was absent in the class.”