Karnataka High Court issues notice in another plea against KSLU offline exams circular, students seek Rs 5 lakh compensation for mental agony

The Karnataka High Court has sought the response of the State government in another plea seeking to quash the circular issued by Karnataka State Law University (KSLU) mandating offline exams for intermediate semester law students. .Additionally, the petitioners have also sought compensation of Rs 5 lakh for mental agony caused to them due to extension of the academic calendar by KSLU. .Justice R Devdas issued notice to the Bar Council of India (BCI), University Grants Commission (UGC), KSLU and the State on Friday. .The plea states that the UGC academic calendar, envisaged under the UGC Guidelines dated April 29, 2020, mandates that intermediate semester exams for the previous even semester of academic year 2019-20 had to be completed by July 31. The results had to be declared by August 14, 2020 by the 50-50 composite mode of examination. .It is pointed out that even the BCI has stated, in its guidelines of November 1, that online and offline exam options must be given to students.However, it is the petitioners' contention that KSLU has not conducted the semester exams of the previous semester yet, thus, crossing the UGC academic calendar by eight months..As KSLU has not conducted the even semester examination, it has made it compulsory for all its students to give only offline exams, in violation of the UGC guidelines, the plea states. On January 13, KSLU had released a circular imposing the conduct of examinations through offline mode for intermediate semester law students. .The petition further states that the University is now asking students to write two end-semester exams, back to back. This would mean a total of four end-semester exams in one year, says the plea. ."Due to the delay caused by the 2nd respondent’s unreasonable and unnecessary stubbornness of conducting offline physical exams and because of no fault of the students, the petitioners and other students of KSLU are having to face the herculean task of writing 4 semester exams in a short span. This is beyond human capacity and legitimate expectation from students.".It is the petitioners' case that this delay in conducting exams has caused great mental agony and irreparable damage to students of KSLU. They contend that all academic activities are based on the UGC calendar, and it is the statutory duty of every University in the country to follow the UGC guidelines. ."The intermediate semester examination of ‘EVEN’ semester of 2019-20 academic year, ought to have been conducted from 16.07.2020 to 31.07.2020 and the result ought to have been published compulsorily on 14.08.2020. But the second respondent has not done so and thereby committed intolerable and grave mistake in as much as it violates a valuable statutory/ legal right as well as the fundamental right of the petitioners and other similarly situated students.".On these grounds, the petition prays for the following reliefs: To quash the January 13 circular issued by KSLU insofar as it imposes examination through offline physical mode for intermediate semester law students To conduct the examination for the odd semester falling in the academic year 2020-21 through online mode and publish results.To direct KSLU to conduct the evaluation of the intermediate semester students for the even semester (2019-20 academic year) through the composite mode of 50% marks on the basis of internal assessment and remaining 50% marks for performance in previous semester.To declare that KSLU or BCI has no right or authority to lengthen/extend the academic calendar indefinitelyFor compensation of Rs 5,00,000 to each petitioner for the mental agony caused due to extension of academic calendar.