Delhi University Decides To Postpone Exams Till August; Petitions Challenging DU Exam Notification Referred To Division Bench Of Delhi HC

The information was given to the Single Bench of Justice Prathiba M Singh which has directed to transfer all the petitions concerning the DU examinations before the Division Bench of Justice Hima Kohli and Justice Subramonium Prasad.

The order has come in a writ petition challenging the decision of the Delhi University to conduct open book examinations (OBE) on July 10.

In today's proceedings, the court was informed by the Delhi University that pursuant to the decision taken last night, the University examinations have been postponed till August 15.

However, the University did not provide a specific date on which the said examinations will be conducted.

The court was also informed by the University Grants Commission (UGC) that the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has issued a revised Office Memorandum wherein the Universities are asked to conduct their examinations by September 2020.

The mode of conducting the examinations, online or offline, has been left to be decided by the concerned Universities after taking into consideration the preparedness of the students as well as other factors.

The Petitioners submitted that the final year students shall be promoted on the basis of the average marks earned in previous years along with the internal assessment.

The Petitioners further filed a compilation of complaints received from students across the country wherein the following issues have been highlighted:

1. Postponement of exams would lead to inability of students to apply for jobs in Public Sector Undertakings which have set the application deadline to be July 31.
2. Such postponement would also adversely impact the prospects of the students why are seeking admissions for Post Graduate programmes in Universities abroad
3. OBE method is plagued by technical glitches, lack of computers and internet access to many students
4. Some students are finding it difficult to appear for the exams as someone in their family, or they themselves, are suffering from COVID19
5. Some students have also exhibited mental trauma due to the uncertainty that looms on the date of conducting the exams

The Petitioners also argued that the decision taken by the University is contrary to the various provisions of the Delhi University Act, as the Executive and the Admission Council was bypassed while taking the decision.

In light of these multiple petitions and the various sudden decisions that are being taken by the Delhi University, the court decided to refer the matter to the Division Bench of Justice Hima Kohli and Justice Subramonium Prasad.

The said Division Bench is already hearing the matter concerning the issues of students who fall under the PwD category vis-a-vis the conducting of the Open Book Examinations in the writ petition titled Prateek Sharma v. Union of India.