In a major relief for law students, the Bar Council of India (BCI) told the Bombay High Court on Wednesday that its direction of June 10, 2020, asking law colleges and universities to conduct end term exams will be applicable prospectively and will not affect exams held prior to it.
The statement was made by BCI advocate Amit Sale before a division bench of Justices RD Dhanuka and Riyaz Chagla. “It will not be applicable retrospectively. It will apply prospectively,’’ said Sale.
In view of this, the Mumbai University said it was withdrawing its July 5, 2021 circular cancelling the May 22, 2020 results of various semesters of the LLB programme and directing assignment based evaluation.
On May 2020, Mumbai University had declared results of the results of semesters 2 and 4 of 3 year LLB and 2, 4, 6 and 8 of the 5 year LLB course. However, BCI issued direction on June 10, 2021, asking all law colleges and universities to hold end term exams. Following this direction, Mumbai University then cancelled the results which were declared in May 2020 and said that the students would have to submit 10 assignments in a period of 21 days.
A petition was filed by Latoya Ferns, a final-year student of Government Law College, that results that are declared cannot be cancelled and substituted with assignment-based evaluation. Also, ten assignments have to be submitted within 21 days without any online classes held for it, she claimed.
The judges noted in their order that following the BCI’s stand, the results of all intermediate exams, declared on the basis of average of previous scores and internal evaluation, would stand restored.
Kulkarni informed the HC that within two weeks the results for all semesters referred to in Mumbai University’s July 5, circular will be declared and mark sheets issued.
