Kashmir University Under Scrutiny After Students Barred from Exams Citing Attendance Shortage
A group of twelve first-year law students from the School of Law, Kashmir University, has alleged that they were not allowed to write one of their end-semester exams because of an attendance dispute. According to them, they were taken out of the examination hall on November 13 even though admit cards had been issued to all of them.
This controversy comes at a time when law colleges across the country are already debating attendance rules, especially after a recent judgment of the Delhi High Court. In that judgment (In Re Sushant Rohilla), the Court asked the Bar Council of India (BCI) to reconsider the strict attendance requirements for LL.B programmes and to consult students and institutions before changing the norms. Till then, the Court said, no recognised law college or university in India should stop students from appearing in exams only because of shortage of attendance.
The Kashmir University students say the opposite has happened to them. They claim that during their second end-semester paper, university staff, along with police personnel, came into the hall and physically escorted them out so that they could not continue with the exam. When the students later tried to hold a peaceful protest about the incident, a proctorial team allegedly intervened and broke up the protest. They also say that they have tried calling and approaching senior university officials, but no one has formally responded so far.
First-semester classes for this batch began on July 14. The students point out that their exams are being held before those of the senior batches and, according to them, senior students with attendance issues have not yet been debarred. The first-year students were allowed to sit for their first paper on November 10 without any obstruction. Their next exam is scheduled for Monday, and their academic future now feels uncertain because of the November 13 incident.
The confusion has grown because of mixed signals from the University. On November 6, a notice listing students who were allegedly short on attendance was circulated on a class WhatsApp group. At the same time, admit cards were issued to all students, including those on the list. The affected students say that once admit cards were issued, they reasonably believed that they were permitted to write all their papers.
When students questioned the use of the Delhi High Court judgment in their defence, they say they were told by University officials that the ruling has only “persuasive value” and is not binding on institutions in Jammu & Kashmir. In other words, the officials’ stand appears to be that colleges in Jammu & Kashmir are not legally required to follow that judgment, even though it deals with law students and attendance norms across India.
The Bar Council of India’s own approval status adds another layer to the issue. The Department of Law, Kashmir University, reportedly has BCI approval for its BA LL.B course only up to the 2022–23 academic year, while another law department on the same campus has approval up to 2024–25. Meanwhile, principals of several affiliated colleges — such as Kashmir Law College, Vitasta School of Law, Sopore Law College and KC Education Foundation Law College — have chosen to condone attendance shortages. First-year students from these affiliated institutions have been allowed to write their exams, the students say, which has made the main campus decision seem inconsistent and unfair to them.
Despite several attempts by the media to reach out, there has been no official comment from the Dean of the Law Department at the time of publication. For the students, the key questions remain: whether a university can rely on attendance rules to stop them from writing exams after issuing admit cards, and how far the Delhi High Court’s decision on attendance should influence law colleges in Jammu & Kashmir.
