The Bombay High Court on Wednesday issued a notice to the Mumbai University (MU), Bar Council of India (BCI) and University Grants Commission (UGC) on a plea seeking directions to the varsity to strictly enforce and ensure compliance with the 75% attendance rule.
The public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed by Sharmila Ghuge, a full-time faculty member of the Jitendra Chauhan Law College, who claimed that the mandatory norm is being violated. The plea also seeks to bring students of three-year and five-year programmes under the ambit of the mandatory 75% attendance rule.
Internships And Lack of Enforcement Prompt PIL Filing
It further stated that many students fail to meet the 75% attendance mark as stipulated by the MU's ordinance 6086. “The low attendance is primarily because of students interning with law firms or being employed while pursuing their law degrees, compounded by the lack of action on the part of law colleges and university authorities to enforce attendance requirements,” the PIL read.
In the first week of the academic year, only 50% of the newly-admitted students attend the lectures and it further decreases to 30% in the second week. In subsequent weeks there is hardly 10% attendance, the plea claimed. Ghuge claimed that she has sent several letters to the MU, BCI and UGC over non-compliance of the attendance rule. However, she has not received any response, prompting her to file the PIL.
Proposed Measures In PIL Seek To Improve Attendance Monitoring
The plea sought that the MU be directed to establish a committee of independent experts, stakeholders in the field of legal education, dedicated to monitor attendance at law college. It also asked for the provisions of regular reports on attendance patterns and action against defaulters. The MU should take disciplinary actions against students and institutions that consistently violate the requirement. Also, the BCI should be directed to consider a proposal for long-term internships so as to encourage students to attend lectures, underlined the PIL.
The HC has kept the matter for hearing on June 19.
