Delhi HC allows detained DU law students to appear in examinations

A handful of detained law students of Delhi University (DU) received some respite after the Delhi High Court recently allowed them to appear in the ongoing LL.B. examinations..Hundreds of students of the Faculty of Law at Delhi University were detained on account of shortage of attendance. As per the rules of the Bar Council of India, a student is required to have at least 70% attendance to be able to appear in the examinations..Many petitions have been filed in the Delhi High Court against the said decision of the varsity. Initially, one Adarsh Raj Singh approached the Court challenging the method of calculation of attendance, contending that classes were not held for a specific period of time due to strike..On May 10, the Single Judge Bench of Justice Rekha Palli granted interim relief to the petitioner and allowed him to appear for the examinations, subject to the final outcome of the case. The Bench also held that if he is not permitted to appear in the examination, grave and irreparable loss would be caused..On May 14, students Harsh Kadyan and Abhishek Kadyan also approached the Court through Advocates Ashish Virmani, Himanshu Dhuper and Akshay Abrol and prayed for the interim relief granted in Adarsh Singh’s case after they had already missed one exam..The next day, three more students moved the Court with the same grievance. Justice Palli granted interim relief to the subsequent petitioners as well, but maintained that no special equities will be created in favor of the petitioners..Advocate Tarun Narang has also filed a public interest litigation on the issue, seeking immediate directions to the varsity to allow all the detained law students to appear in the semester examinations..He stated in the petition that the future of hundreds of detained law students is at stake and their livelihood would be affected, as they are pursuing a professional course..It was also argued that publishing the detention list only a few days before the commencement of examinations was arbitrary and against the principles of natural justice, as no show cause notice was issued to the students earlier..The Court issued notice in the said petition, but did not grant a blanket interim relief to all students..Read Orders of May 14 and May 15: