DNLU Jabalpur protest: Students of Dharmashastra National Law University move MP High Court against fee hike for remedial classes

As many as 78 students of Dharmashastra National Law University (DNLU) in Jabalpur have moved the Madhya Pradesh High Court with a plea seeking permission to take re-examinations without paying for remedial classes and to waive off the fee imposed by the varsity for those lectures.

The writ petition was filed on August 16 and has been listed in the Madhya Pradesh HC. It is yet to be heard.

The students from different batches mentioned in their petition the university administration published three lists with the names of 120 of them and restricted them from appearing in the final exam of the previous semester, which was already being held.

DNLU held the final exams for the previous semester from June 24 to the end of July.

The administration also announced it will hold remedial classes for these students and they will have to pay a fee of Rs 7500 per subject, according to the students’ petition. It added the remedial classes were made compulsory for them to be able to appear for re-exam.

The petition said the fee fixed by the university for the remedial classes is arbitrary and retrospective in nature without any prior provision and violates Article 14 of the Constitution. It also argued that the Supreme Court has already set a precedent that although universities can decide their own fees, arbitrary fixation of fees should be avoided.

The writ petition also mentions that the university first accepted the medical certificates of students who had low attendance, but then arbitrarily and suspiciously rejected those documents after the term-end exam began.

The students have also alleged the university held far fewer classes than the 60 classes per semester mandated by the Bar Council of India.

A DLNU official has denied all these charges.

Protest on campus

The students also staged a protest Wednesday, the first day of the new academic session, against the authorities for debarring the students from appearing in the exam, and imposing an exorbitant fee for remedial classes.

The students said Vice-Chancellor V Nagaraj agreed to hold a town hall over their demands after the Jabalpur police came to the campus Wednesday and tried to negotiate with them. “The town hall was not helpful at all. The V-C kept trying to justify the university’s actions and said that some things happened without his knowledge,” Aditya B. Puri, a fifth-year student, told The Indian Express.

“But we want the V-C to resign for multiple reasons. We are continuing our protest till that demand is met,” added Puri.

‘New rules’

Shaileshwar Yadav, a fifth-year student who was not allowed to take the exam for one subject, told The Indian Express the list came just two days before the exam.

“Many students had medical issues due to which they were not able to attend classes. Until now, we could provide a medical certificate and appeal for a re-examination. But the admin made a new rule that even with medical issues students will need to have at least 65 per cent attendance to appear for the exams,” said Yadav.

Before this, Yadav said, they could sit for the exams and were allowed to attend remedial classes which were free of cost. They were also allowed to appear for the re-examination after paying Rs 300, he added. “Now, we have found out that the university has decided to take Rs 7,500 per subject as fees for remedial classes. So, if a student was debarred from sitting in all the examinations, he or she would have to pay upwards of Rs 40,000 just for a month of remedial classes and re-examination,” said Yadav.

Another fifth-year student Neelesh Kumar from Alwar in Rajasthan said he was not allowed to appear for the exams even though his kidneys failed and he was in the hospital.

“Our semester started in March. I suffered from kidney failure in February and was hospitalised for a month. I had come to the campus just for a day in April. I inquired with some admin members back then if I should attend classes or not. They told me that since I have a valid reason and a serious illness, I can attach my medical certificates and my lack of attendance will be waived off and I will be able to appear for the end semester examination,” said Kumar.

Kumar said he went back home since he had not fully recovered. He decided to give the mid-semester exams and all the classes a miss after he got verbal assurance from university officials that he will be allowed to take the final exams. In June, when the end semester exams started, he was allowed to sit for two subjects.

“In the middle of the examination schedule, another list was published for students with less attendance and I was told I could no longer sit for the exams. I asked why I was allowed to sit for two exams. The administration said it was an error and those two exams would not count, since I did not have the requisite attendance,” he said.

‘V-C wanted to help students’

After the students filed the writ petition, the university announced that the fees for remedial classes will be reduced to Rs 5000.

Speaking to The Indian Express, DNLU’s Registrar In-Charge Jalej Goantiya said according to university rules students with less than 70 per cent attendance cannot sit for exams. Even if students produce their medical certificates, they would still need to have 65 per cent attendance, he added. “In fact, this year our vice-chancellor made an exception for everyone, and the 70 per cent required attendance was waived off, and it was made 65 per cent for everyone including those with medical issues,” said Goantiya.

Talking about the fee imposition for remedial classes, Goantiya said, “We were accounting for the administrative expenses of remedial classes and re-examination. Teachers will have to be paid their salary for the classes. Re-examination will require setting question papers, their printouts, arranging answer sheets etc,” he said.

Goantiya said remedial classes were a one-time provision for this year and should not be taken as a precedent. “Students who were ineligible to attend the examination in the previous semester would have lost an entire year. The V-C wanted to help out and give them an opportunity to save a year, and that’s the reason remedial classes are being held,” he added.

Goantiya said as students have filed a writ petition and the matter is now sub judice, there is no point in the students’ protest since the university will do whatever the court orders. “They should attend classes and not disturb other students and the faculty,” said Goantiya.

Students, however, are adamant about the protest and boycott of classes. “They always keep arguing that we are a new university and hence there are difficulties. But we have realised that unless the current V-C resigns we may not see any improvement in our administration,” said Puri.