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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Goa nightclub fire: Owners Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra fled to Phuket after tragedy, say police
Panaji (PTI): Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra, the main accused and owners of the Goa nightclub where a massive blaze claimed 25 lives, fled to Phuket hours after the tragedy, Goa Police said on Monday.
"Goa Police have taken further steps to coordinate with the Interpol Division of the CBI to apprehend both Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra at the earliest," a senior police officer said.
A massive fire at the nightclub, some 25 kilometres away from Panaji, on late Saturday night killed 25 persons. The deceased comprised 20 employees of the nightclub and five tourists, including four from Delhi. Five injured people were undergoing treatment at the government-run Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH).
After registering an FIR against them, a Look Out Circular was issued against them by December 7 by the Bureau of Immigration (BOI) at the request of the Goa Police.
The Bureau of Immigration at Mumbai was contacted, and it was found that both the accused had taken the 6E 1073 flight to Phuket at 5.30 am on December 7, immediately after the fire incident, which occurred around midnight, the officer said.
READ ALSO: Goa nightclub fire: Owner Saurabh Luthra expresses grief, assures management support
He said the Goa Police had immediately dispatched a team to Delhi to conduct raids on the addresses of the accused Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra.
"Since they were not available, a notice under the appropriate sections of law was pasted on the gate of their house. This shows their intent to avoid the police investigation", he said.
Goa Police have obtained transit remand of Bharat Kohli, an employee of the club, and are bringing him to Goa.
He also said that the postmortem on all 25 deceased has been completed and bodies handed over to their families.
