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The Delhi High Court has issued important guidelines stating that law students cannot be barred from semester examinations merely due to low attendance nor should progression to the next semester be withheld on that ground. A Division Bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Amit Sharma emphasised that no university or law college should impose attendance norms beyond what the Bar Council of India (BCI) prescribes. The Bench allowed colleges to penalise students with up to a 5 per cent reduction in marks if attendance is found inadequate, or 0.33 per cent in systems following CGPA grading, but refused to permit denial of exam eligibility.
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Institutional Reforms and Student Grievance Redressal
In its comprehensive order, the court directed that institutions must inform both students and their parents of attendance shortfalls and provide extra classes – physical or online – to help those lagging behind. All law colleges, universities and institutions are mandated to establish a Grievance Redressal Commission (GRC) where at least 51 per cent of the members are students, as insisted by the court. Further, the BCI has been tasked to revise affiliation conditions to include full-time student counsellors and psychiatrists, revisit mandatory class attendance rules for law degrees, and ensure transparency in internships by publishing lists of available law firms and practitioners for underprivileged students.
Background and Implications
The court’s intervention comes after the suicide of law student Sushant Rohilla in 2017, which was linked to harassment over low attendance at an Amity University campus. The guidelines issued reflect an acknowledgment of the pressures faced by students and the need to balance academic discipline with fair access. For law schools across India, the decision signals a shift towards protecting student rights and ensuring educational institutions cannot adopt attendance policies that amount to de facto exclusion from exams.
