No law student be detained from sitting in exams for lack of attendance: Delhi HC
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi High Court on Monday ruled that no law student in the country should be detained from sitting in examinations due to lack of minimum attendance.
The high court, which passed a slew of directions in relation to mandatory attendance requirement in law colleges, asked the Bar Council of India (BCI) to modify the mandatory attendance norms.
Due to shortage of attendance, student’s promotion to next semester class cannot be withheld, it said.
A bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Amit Sharma passed the order while disposing of a suo motu petition, initiated by the Supreme Court, in relation to the death of law student Sushant Rohilla by suicide in 2016 after allegedly being barred from sitting for the semester exams due to lack of requisite attendance.
“Having heard at length the submission of all stakeholders in this case over the course of hearing and having considered the stark realities that have come to the surface, this court is strongly of the view that norms education in general and legal education in particular, cannot be made so stringent so as to lead to mental trauma, let alone death of a student,” the bench said while pronouncing the verdict.
Rohilla, a third year law student of Amity, had hanged himself at his home here on August 10, 2016 after his college allegedly barred him from sitting for the semester exams due to lack of requisite attendance. He left behind a note, saying he was a failure and did not wish to live.
The present petition was initiated by the Supreme Court in September 2016 following the incident but was transferred to the high court in March 2017.
While pronouncing the judgment, the high court said, the Bar Council of India (BCI) should undertake a stakeholder consultation, including student bodies, parents and teachers for this purpose, in an expeditious manner in order to safeguard the life and mental health of students keeping in mind the impact on students at detention or non-appearance in exams due to mandatory attendance requirements can have.
“While the consultations by the BCI are underway, in the interregnum, it is directed as under -- no student enrolled in any recognised law college, university or institution in India shall be detained from taking examination or be prevented from further academic pursuits of career progression on the ground of lack of minimum attendance,” the bench said.
It added that no law college, university or institution should be permitted to mandate norms of attendance, norms which are over and above the minimum percentage prescribed by the BCI.
In so far as mandatory attendance norms fixed by the BCI are concerned, all law colleges, universities and institutions recognised which impart three year and five year degrees should, with immediate effect, implement accelerative measures, including, firstly, weekly notification of attendance of students to online portal or a mobile app, monthly notice to parents and legal guardians regarding any shortage in attendance, conducting extra physical or online classes for such students who do not fulfil the minimum attendance norms.
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Pak PM Shehbaz likely to visit Saudi Arabia within next 48 hours: Report
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Islamabad (PTI): Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is likely to visit Saudi Arabia within the next 48 hours following an invitation from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a media report said on Monday.
During the visit, Shehbaz is expected to hold consultations on key regional and international developments, signalling continued diplomatic engagement between the two countries, Geo News reported.
The visit follows much-anticipated talks in Islamabad, which ran from Saturday into early Sunday and were the highest-level discussions between the two sides since Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The negotiations came days after a ceasefire between the US and Iran began last week, aimed at ending six weeks of fighting that has killed thousands of people across the Gulf, throttled vital supplies of energy and sparked fears of a wider regional conflict.
Discussions on financial cooperation are expected to feature prominently, particularly after Saudi and Qatar promised to provide USD 5 billion in assistance for Pakistan.
The prime minister would be accompanied by Chief of Defence Forces Asim Munir, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, and Special Assistant Syed Tariq Fatemi.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb is expected to join the delegation in Riyadh, subject to the completion of his ongoing visit to the US.
Riyadh and Islamabad signed a mutual defence pact in September 2025, committing both sides to treat any aggression against either country as an attack on both. That significantly deepened a decades-old security partnership.
Recently, a Pakistani military contingent comprising around 13,000 soldiers and 10 to 18 jets has reached Saudi Arabia as part of the joint defence agreement.
The military contingent's deployment to King Abdulaziz Air Base in the Eastern Sector includes fighter jets and support aircraft from the Pakistan Air Force, the Saudi Ministry of Defence said last week.
The deployment aimed to enhance joint military coordination, improve operational readiness between the armed forces of the two countries, and support security and stability at regional and international levels, it added.
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