No law student be barred from exams for lack of attendance, says HC in ruling 9 yrs after Delhi suicide sparked concern

Issue was picked up by courts following death of law student Sushant Rohilla by suicide in 2016, after he had been barred from sitting for semester exams

In a ruling that may prove to be a landmark, the Delhi high court on Monday ruled that no law student in the country can be barred from examinations over not meeting minimum-attendance norms.

With consultations by the Bar Council of India underway for norms if any, meanwhile no student in any recognised law institution in India shall be detained from taking examination or be prevented from further academic pursuits on the ground of lack of minimum attendance, Delhi HC has ruled.

The bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Amit Sharma passed the order on a suo motu petition initiated by the Supreme Court, after the death of law student Sushant Rohilla by suicide in 2016. Rohilla had been barred from sitting for the semester exams over attendance shortage.

“Having considered the stark realities that have come to the surface, this court is strongly of the view that norms (in) education in general and legal education in particular cannot be made so stringent so as to lead to mental trauma, let alone death of a student,” the bench said while pronouncing the verdict, as per news agency PTI.

The HC, passing a number of directions, asked the Bar Council of India (BCI), which governs law education, to modify the mandatory attendance norms across colleges.

Rohilla, a third year law student of Amity Law School in Delhi, died by suicide at his home in Sarojini Nagar on August 10, 2016, after he was barred him from sitting for semester exams over attendance norms. He left behind a note calling himself a failure.

A petition was thus initiated by the SC in the month after his death. It was transferred to the high court in March 2017.

What HC has ruled on law college attendance norms

• The Delhi HC said has directed the Bar Council of India (BCI) to consult all stakeholders, including students, parents and teachers, on the issue of attendance for law students to come up with uniform norms if any.
• The court said the consultation should be done in an “expeditious manner” since the matter concerns safeguarding the life and mental health of students. It noted that attendance norms can have an impact on students who face detention or non-appearance in exams.
• “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 bench said.
• It added that no institution should be permitted to mandate norms of attendance over and above a minimum percentage to be prescribed by the BCI.
• As for the attendance norms fixed by the BCI, all law institutions which impart three- and five-year law degrees should, with immediate effect, implement these measures: weekly notification of attendance of students to online portal or a mobile app; monthly notice to parents and legal guardians regarding any shortage in attendance; conducting extra physical or online classes for such students who do not fulfil the minimum attendance norms.