Mumbai: An internship with the Bombay high court chief justice did not cut any ice when a law college student cited it as a reason for low attendance, thus barring him from appearing for exams.The Bombay high court on Friday denied urgent permission to a second-year Pune law college student to appear for the fourth-semester examination. The student pleaded his attendance shortfall be dispensed with as he was in a judicial internship with the HC chief justice. “Your attendance is 3%,” remarked Justices Riyaz Chagla and Advait Sethna while hearing his plea before dismissing ad interim relief to enable him to appear for the exams.The student’s lawyer argued that the college— ILS Law College, Pune — conducted only 162-odd hours of lectures when it was required to conduct 432 hours. The HC bench orally questioned, “So if they are at fault, you should also be?” The lawyer said he would show mathematically how his plea for necessary 75% attendance was justified, as he was doing an internship with the CJ.The college counsel said, “Internship is compulsory for students of third to fifth years.”The student’s counsel persisted after citing a Delhi HC judgment to say, if he was in Delhi he would have been allowed to appear, as would he also, had he been in a private university, pleading the student’s fundamental right to equality was being flouted.The ILS Law College in its reply on Friday said, “As per Ordinance 70, the shortage of attendance can be condoned by the university by 20% maximum on account of bona fide illness or any other compelling reason beyond the control of the candidate/student on the recommendation of the principal of the college. Thus, to keep the term, a student is required to attend a minimum 75% of the lectures, which can be condoned by 20% maximum.“The bench noted on April 10 it extended time to fill the exam form as the last date was April 11. The student, through his counsel, on April 10 cited a March 17 communication of the registrar (personnel) for dispensing with his college attendance for the internship duration of Dec 5, 2025, to March 24, 2026. The internship duration be “treated as academic attendance and the petitioner shall not be deprived of any benefits linked to academic credits, including scholarships...,” the registrar wrote.The college counsel SS Kanetkar informed the HC by a March 25 letter that communication of the registrar “has been withdrawn” with immediate effect. The student’s counsel said he was unaware of such withdrawal.The HC on Friday referred to its Jan order of another student of the same law college who too was denied relief when he had 45% attendance. The law empowers the executive council of the university to condone a deficiency in attendance provided that the student has attended at least 55% of the lectures in the whole year, the HC noted.On April 10, the HC said it was aware of the Delhi HC ruling that no student enrolled in any recognised law college can be detained from appearing for exams for lacking minimum attendance. On Friday, citing an earlier HC order, the judges said while it extended the exam form deadline for him earlier, in the “peculiar circumstances,” it doesn’t consider it apropos to extend it further. The HC, citing his 3% attendance for the fourth semester, said it was “not inclined to grant any ad-interim relief.”The HC sought a reply in four weeks from the university and others and then the student’s rejoinder, if any, and posted the matter next on May 5.
