Students Short of Attendance in DU Allowed to Take Exam on Recommendation of BCI
S.N Singh, former Dean of the Faculty of Law, filed a PIL stating that around 500 students from the Law department did not fulfill the minimum attendance requirement as prescribed by BCI.
To defend its action of allowing students to sit for the LLB examination, Delhi University has, on its part, told Delhi High Court that the University had allowed students to take the Law examination, despite their shortage of attendance in a semester of LLB exam in 2016-17 on the recommendations of the apex regulating body of legal education in the country - Bar Council of India (BCI).
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S.N Singh, the former Dean of the Faculty of Law, filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL). It said that around 500 students from the Law department did not fulfil the minimum attendance criteria as prescribed by BCI for the academic year 2015-16. But surprisingly, they were allowed to take the exam on the basis a request letter dated on December 17, 2016 sent by the Secretary of BCI to the University.
Some of these LLB students did not even attend a single class, but were permitted to take the exam.
A bench of Chief Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal and Justice G Rohini was told that on December 17, 2016, BCI wrote a letter to Delhi University to consider sympathetically the cases of the several students pursuing their LLB course who were detained and issue them admit cards as to cover the shortfall in attendance in the next semester.
It said that some of these LLB students did not attend even a single class but were allowed to take the exam. The Varsity responded in the backdrop of a plea that alleged that promotion and attendance rules were flagrantly violated by the University during the academic year 2015-16 and 2016-17. The University did not give any statutory rules in this regards.
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Delhi High court has also asked for an explanation from the side of BCI for writing to Faculty of Law Delhi University to relax attendance rules of around 500 students in the backdrop of the difficulties faced after demonetization. Council is yet to reply. The bench further said that BCI has to file its counter affidavit before the next date of hearing on February 16, 2017.