In a big relief to law students who have been on strike for over a week seeking cancellation of the offline examination, the Dharwad Bench of High Court of Karnataka on Tuesday quashed the university’s examination notification pertaining to students of second and fourth semester and directed the university to promote students as per the earlier order of the court. The order will apply to all KSLU affiliated law colleges across Karnataka and the examinations were scheduled to begin from Wednesday (December15).
After hearing both the sides, Justice Hemant Chandangoudar passed order on Tuesday evening. The order said: “The impugned notification dated 22.09.2021 issued by the respondent No. 2 (KSLU) and also subsequent notification dated 01.12.2021 issued by respondent No. 3 insofar it relates to conducting the examination for the students of 2nd and 4th semester of three year LLB course are hereby quashed. Respondent No. 2 university is directed to promote the petitioners to the next semester in the light of the order passed by this court in writ petition no. 14389/2020 disposed of on 08.02.202. It is made clear that this order is restricted to the students of the three year LLB course.”
In the earlier order of the High Court passed on February 8, by Justice R. Devdas it was said: “Insofar as the even semester examinations are concerned, the same shall be assessed on the basis of the internal assessments of the students to an extent of 50% and the remaining 50% of the marks on the basis of performance in the previous semester only (if available). The marks card shall also be issued in the above terms, with respect to the even semesters”.
Meanwhile, it is not yet clear about how the university plans to conduct the examinations pertaining to other semesters of five-year LLB course and the repeaters following Tuesday’s court order. As the court has clearly restricted its order to 2nd and 4th semesters, confusion still prevails about the other issues. A clarification from KSLU is awaited.
Following the court order on Tuesday, celebrations erupted at the protest site on KSLU campus in Hubballi, where the students have been on indefinite agitation for over a week, including four on hunger strike.
