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The Supreme Court connected Wednesday (May 13, 2026) expressed superior reservations implicit a November 3, 2025, ruling of the Delhi High Court, which held that instrumentality students should not beryllium barred from appearing successful examinations solely connected relationship of attendance shortages.
The tribunal said that specified a presumption risked turning instrumentality assemblage hostels into “just boarding and lodging facilities”, with students nary longer feeling compelled to regularly be classes.
A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and Vijay Bishnoi said it would “lay down the close law” portion issuing a announcement connected a plea filed by Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) challenging the High Court judgment. The Bench, however, declined to enactment the cognition of the ruling.
“We are not suspending that order. We volition perceive the matter, determine and laic down the close presumption of law,” the Bench observed.
During the hearing, elder advocator Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the university, contended that the Delhi High Court ruling had efficaciously diluted attendance requirements and was posing important challenges for instrumentality colleges crossed the country.
“The High Court says nary attendance is required anywhere. People don’t privation to spell to college. I americium wondering wherefore we went to assemblage then,” Mr. Rohatgi said.
Concurring with the submission precocious by Mr. Rohatgi, the Bench observed that accepting specified a presumption would trim National Law University hostels to “just boarding and lodging facilities”.
The substance was accordingly tagged with a pending batch of petitions challenging Bar Council of India (BCI) circulars mandating transgression inheritance disclosures, declarations regarding simultaneous world programmes, and compliance with attendance requirements for instrumentality students. The Bench said that it would perceive the pleas connected May 26.
The Delhi High Court successful November past twelvemonth had directed the BCI to reconsider the compulsory attendance requirements prescribed for three-year and five-year instrumentality courses, holding that students should not beryllium denied the accidental to beryllium for examinations solely connected the crushed of debased attendance. The absorption was issued successful proceedings arising from the alleged termination of a pupil of Amity Law University successful 2016 aft helium was reportedly barred from appearing successful examinations owed to a shortage of attendance.
“Mandatory attendance norms besides thin to curb originative state by forcing students to beryllium successful a peculiar abstraction that is sometimes without immoderate worth generation. There’s a request to person a relook, and modify the mode successful which mandatory carnal attendance is to beryllium perceived, and however attendance is not to beryllium adapted with the changing times,” a Division Bench headed by Justice Prathiba M. Singh had observed.
Placing reliance connected the Division Bench ruling, a azygous justice of the Delhi High Court subsequently extended alleviation earlier this twelvemonth to respective University of Delhi instrumentality students who had either been barred from appearing successful examinations oregon whose results were withheld connected relationship of inadequate attendance.
In its petition, NMIMS contended that the Delhi High Court ruling had opened the “floodgates” for litigation by students seeking support to look for examinations contempt falling abbreviated of mandatory attendance norms, thereby undermining world subject and organization autonomy.
The plea contended that schoolroom teaching remains foundational to ineligible education, peculiarly successful five-year integrated instrumentality programmes wherever students articulation assemblage straight aft school. It maintained that lectures, tutorials, moot tribunal sessions and different forms of applicable grooming cannot beryllium afloat replaced by internships, competitions oregon extracurricular engagements.
The petition besides relied connected Rule 12 of the BCI Rules connected Legal Education, 2008, which mandates a minimum attendance threshold of 70% portion permitting constricted relaxation up to 65% successful exceptional cases.
In an earlier proceeding connected May 7, the apical tribunal had flagged that the Delhi High Court ruling had created “chaos” and had go a substance of interest for National Law Universities.
