A student from the National Law University (NLU), Jodhpur has approached the Rajasthan High Court after being unexpectedly denied two gold medals shortly before the institution’s 17th convocation in February 2025. The matter is currently under judicial review, with Justice Sunil Beniwal having issued notice on November 6, 2025.
Background of the Case
Anuj Shukla, a student of LL.M. (IPR Laws) from the 2023-24 batch, was initially slated to receive the Smt. Vandana Devendra Mehta Gold Medal for the highest CGPA in his specialization and the Nani A. Palkhivala Memorial Gold Medal for the top CGPA across all LL.M. streams. Recommendations for these awards were made by the University’s Gold Medal Committee on February 8, 2025, and approved by the Academic Council on February 15, 2025, well before the convocation date.
The Dispute
Moments before the ceremony, the Controller of Examination (COE) informed Shukla that he would not receive the medals due to his application for the re-evaluation of a first-semester paper. The lack of prior notification and refusal of a proper hearing led to the awards being given to another student, K Ankita Rao.
Re-evaluation and Its Impact
The re-evaluation pertained to Shukla’s Research Methodology paper, where his marks were reduced from 82 to 65. Despite this, the University maintained the original score on his grade sheets, aligning with a customary practice for marginal decreases. His total score across semesters remained 875 out of 1000, with a CGPA of 9.19, still surpassing Rao’s scores according to Committee records.
RTI Revelations
Shukla discovered through a Right to Information (RTI) request that a Gold Medal Committee meeting was convened on the convocation morning at 9:30 AM after Rao contested the medal allocation. The interim decision favored her, but the Vice Chancellor officially approved it only on February 25, 2025, post-ceremony.
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Legal Contentions
Shukla contends that under Clause 15(k) of the Schedule to the National Law University Act, 1999, only the Academic Council has the authority to confer medals. The decision to award the medals to Rao was never presented to the Academic Council, thus allegedly lacking legal validity.
Further Allegations
Shukla has also raised concerns over receiving a new Statement of Marks dated February 23, 2025, on March 17, 2025. Requests for a correctly dated document were ignored, and he alleges being warned of potential repercussions on character certificates for non-compliance.
High Court Proceedings
Consequently, Shukla filed a writ petition seeking to invalidate the February 23, 2025, decision and reinstate the medals as initially approved. The case has three respondents: the University, the Academic Council, and the student who received the medals. Notice is yet to reach the third respondent, with proceedings anticipated to progress once service is complete.
Current Status
The case now awaits further hearing under Justice Sanjeet Purohit, who on May 22, directed the University to issue instructions regarding Shukla’s mark-sheet and scheduled the next hearing for the second week of July. The University is represented by Advocate Shreyansh Mardia, while Shukla is currently representing himself, having earlier engaged Advocate Nikhil Ajmera.
