Ankita Meena, whose pregnancy saw her fall short of the attendance cut-off, missed her Delhi University law exams on Wednesday.
The Supreme Court, to which she had appealed for equal treatment, said it felt “very uncomfortable” passing an order in her favour with hardly an hour left for the exam to begin.
Events unfolded 10 minutes before noon, when the case was called for hearing before a Vacation Bench of Justices A. M. Khanwilkar and Navin Sinha.
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However, the DU lawyer was not present and the court refused to pass an order without hearing him.
Justice Khanwilkar, even then, expressed doubts about whether it was too late in the day to give Ms. Meena any relief. Her exam was scheduled at 2 p.m.
“By the time we hear the other side, what can be done,” asked Justice Khanwilkar, urging the petitioners to reach out to the university counsel.
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Just before the Bench rose for lunch, the case returned to the judges for the second time. Lawyers on both sides were in attendance on this occasion.
DU advocate Mohinder J.S. Rupal raised objections to letting Ms. Meena write the exam. He said there was no time left to make necessary arrangements, like issuing an admit card.
“It cannot be done now,” Mr. Rupal submitted.
‘Discipline a must’
Mr. Rupal said the Bar Council of India’s provisions on legal education were specific on the 70% attendance requirement. Discipline about attendance was a must as law was a professional course.
Justice Khanwilkar seemed to agree, saying the “discipline of academics is lost completely”.
Justice Sinha too spoke his mind, saying the Bench was not “very comfortable with the idea that the Supreme court passes an order at 1 p.m. and the student sits for the exam at 2 p.m.…”
Justice Sinha empathised with the student, saying that in the morning the court Bench was unwilling to pass an order without hearing the varsity counsel, and now the university was not agreeable to accommodating her.
Besides, the Bench said the law was not in Ms. Meena’s favour and she had not applied for maternity leave.
Advocate Ashish Virmani, representing the student, said his client had 49% attendance and she should be allowed to complete her papers.
“There is no point passing an order which cannot be complied with. Time is limited,” Justice Khanwilkar said.
A Single Bench of the Delhi High Court had recently refused her relief on the ground that attendance in professional courses was a strict criterion to qualify to appear for exams. An appeal is pending before a Division Bench of the High Court against this order.
The Supreme Court finally dismissed her special leave petition but gave her liberty to pursue her pending appeal before the High Court.
“It is made clear that the dismissal of this petition will not come in the way of the petitioner to pursue other remedy,” the Supreme Court recorded in its short order.