The Supreme Court has suspended the operation of a Delhi High Court judgment that prohibited law colleges from barring students from appearing in exams due to insufficient attendance.
A bench of justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta issued a notice to the Bar Council of India (BCI) and stayed the operation of the judgment, citing that law institutions across the country were suffering due to the ruling.
The court observed that the consequences of the high court ruling were being felt by law institutions, particularly National Law Universities (NLUs), with students increasingly resisting mandatory attendance requirements.
The BCI acknowledged the delay in approaching the apex court against the judgment, with senior advocate Manan Kumar Mishra describing it as a lapse on the part of the regulatory body.
The Supreme Court had previously expressed serious reservations about the Delhi high court ruling, observing that accepting such a position could reduce law college hostels into 'just boarding and lodging facilities'.
