Bombay High Court Directs Mumbai University To File Affidavit On Minimum Attendance Requirement In PIL Over Law Students 'Absenteeism'

The issue concerns a PIL filed by a law professor from Mumbai University seeking enforcement of mandatory attendance requirements among law students enrolled in various colleges affiliated with the university.

The petitioner claimed that though the university mandates a minimum attendance of 75% there was a significant discrepancy between the required attendance and the actual attendance of students.

Today, a division bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar noted that the University Grants Commission (Minimum Standards of Instruction for the Grant of First Degree through Formal Education) Regulations, 2003 clearly mandate 75% of minimum attendance as well as a minimum of 180 teaching days in an academic year.

The Court thus asked the university to file an affidavit about the minimum attendance required for students to appear for exams.

“To ascertain as to whether the University of Mumbai has prescribed the minimum number of lectures/ tutorials/ seminars/ practicals, which a student is required to attend for his/her eligibility to appear in the examination, we call upon the learned Counsel representing the University, to file an affidavit by 14th November 2024 disclosing the said information.”

The Court also took note of the recent BCI Circular which prescribed certain norms to be followed by the students including a proof of compliance of the attendance norms as per Rule 12 of the Rules of Legal Education.

It directed the BCI to file the affidavit-in-reply and posted the matter for 28 November.

Case Title –Sharmila Ghuge v. University of Mumbai (Public Interest Litigation No.14 of 2024)