The Bombay HC noted that it was “clear” that the earlier bench was not informed and expressed its displeasure and directed the college to take adequate steps. (File)
The Bombay High Court on Friday expressed displeasure with Mithibai College, Vile Parle (West), for not disclosing that students with 60 per cent attendance had been allowed to appear for summer exams when the college had asserted before it on June 18 that minimum 70 per cent attendance for each subject was mandatory.
A division bench of Justice S J Kathawalla and Justice Nitin R Borkar made the observation while hearing a plea by a student who had 58.9 per cent attendance in the fourth semester of SY BCom. The plea, filed through advocate Harshad Bhadbhade, stated that the college had permitted students with 59 per cent attendance to appear for exams and promoted them to next year while debarring the petitioner.
The plea sought that petitioner is declared eligible for exam and is allowed to take admission in the third year of the course on the basis of average internal marks of previous semester.
Earlier, on March 12, the High Court had dismissed the plea of 107 students seeking permission to appear in the semester examinations of the commerce stream. The students had been barred by the college, an autonomous institution, from writing the exams due to lack of attendance.
The college had then said the students were required to fulfil the stipulated 75 per cent overall attendance and 70 per cent attendance for each subject as per the Maharashtra Universities Act. The judges said on Friday the college, in its written submissions, had for the first time stated that it had allowed students with 60 per cent attendance to appear for fourth semester exams.
Responding to the query, Hande submitted that students with 59.2 per cent attendance were allowed to take the exams and a decision was taken on March 6. The court questioned why this fact was suppressed in the June 18 submission that stated 70 per cent attendance was mandatory, and if the earlier bench, which had dismissed the plea of 107 students on March 12, was informed. The HC noted that it was “clear” that the earlier bench was not informed and expressed its displeasure and directed the college to take adequate steps.