The Karnataka High Court has provided temporary relief to two law students from Bengaluru’s SVKM’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) who faced disqualification from their semester exams due to insufficient attendance. Justice Ashok S Kinagi allowed these students to sit for their fourth-year BBA LLB (Hons) semester VIII exams, which are scheduled to start on July 6. This permission, however, is contingent on the final verdict of the ongoing case in the High Court.
Justice Kinagi stated, “The respondents are directed to permit the petitioner to appear for the ensuing examination scheduled to be held in July 2026. The appearance of the petitioner for the said examination shall be subject to the outcome of the writ petition.” Furthermore, as part of the interim relief conditions, the Court required the students to submit an undertaking. This document must specify that if their petitions are eventually dismissed, they will not claim any equity simply because they were allowed to partake in the examination.
The students approached the Court to challenge their disqualification and the attendance norms set by the Bar Council of India (BCI). The Court has requested responses from NMIMS and BCI regarding this matter. Advocate Anubha Srivastava has accepted the notice on behalf of the BCI, while High Court Government Pleader Rashmi Rao has accepted the notice for the State of Karnataka.
The petitioners argue that the BCI’s mandatory attendance rules, enforced by the university, should be deemed ultra vires the Advocates Act, 1961, unconstitutional, arbitrary, and in violation of Articles 14, 19, and 21 of the Constitution. They have called for the Court to nullify the university’s communications dated April 28, April 29, and June 15, which led to their disqualification from the semester VIII exams and subsequent re-examinations. Moreover, they seek directives for the university to permit them to appear for the semester exams beginning July 6 and to declare their results, adhering to any conditions imposed by the Court.
In its interim order, the Court granted the requested relief, allowing the students to proceed with their examinations. The petitioners were represented by advocate Chintan Chinnappa, with support from advocates Venkatesh Kamath and Vybhav Nair of Spectrum Legal.
