New Delhi (ILNS): The Delhi High Court today issued notice on a plea challenging the conduct of BA LLB and BBA LLB examinations through physical mode.
The bench comprising the Chief Justice D. N. Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan while issuing notices has asked the Centre, Guru Gobind Singh IP University, Bar Council of India, University Grants Commission, Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies, Amity University Noida to file their replies while listing the matter for next hearing on November 12.
The petition filed by a number of law students including Sudhanshu Kathuria has challenged the notifications of September 30 according to which the examinations for the regular, supplementary and other for BA LLB and BBA LLB courses have been scheduled to be held in physical mode from October 27, 2020.
“The subsequent notification dated 20/10/2020 issuing the date sheet for the said examinations in physical mode and the notification dated 22/10/2020 rescheduling the examinations to be now held from 02/11/2020. The same are violative of the guidelines issued by the University Grants Commission, the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India qua conduct of examinations,” read the petition.
The petitioners have urged the Court to set aside the said notification which according to the petitioners have ben issued in contrary to the guidelines issued by the Centre and the UGC.
The petitioners have further urged the Court
“in the alternative in the event that physical examination are to be conducted as envisaged under press release dated 09/06/2020 & order dated 5/10/2020, the same be conducted within a reasonable period after restoration of normalcy & reopening & functioning of university and its colleges after lifting of lock down and not mandatorily within one month thereof as envisaged in the said documents dated 09/06/2020 & 5/10/2020.”
Pointing out the difficulties being faced by them the petitioners have submitted that “there are serious issues that need to be taken into consideration such as rented accommodations for out-station students, Covi-19 guidelines, isolation rooms, level of examination keeping in mind the unprecedented global pandemic, mode of examination as online or offline mode and the financial burden on their families as the pandemic had resulted in laying-off, loss of income, loss of jobs and strains on family incomes across the country on top of the mental agony being caused to the students as a result of an overburdening curriculum.”
Meanwhile, yesterday the Bar Council of India (BCI) had allowed law colleges to physically conduct examinations after receiving a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the respective State governments and State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) in view of the pandemic. It was also decided to make it optional for the students.
The Bar Council observed:
“If physical exams as contemplated by the University is held with effect from 02.11.2020 and if the said exams are held without any penal consequences to any Student who is unable to appear in the said exam, no student shall be prejudiced or affected and they will get an opportunity to appear in the Exam again after physical reopening of the college/university as contemplated in the Circular/Press Release of the Bar Council of India dated 27.05.2020 and 09.06.2020 respectively, which was further clarified by the BCI Resolution dated 05.10.2020.”