Delhi HC seeks response of Centre, AAP on GGSIPU law students demanding postponement of physical exams

The Delhi High Court Monday sought response of the Centre and AAP government on a PIL by several law students of the Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU) seeking postponement or cancellation of the physical exams to be held from November 2 in colleges under the varsity. A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan issued notice to the Ministry of Home Affairs, Delhi government, GGSIPU, Bar Council of India, Universities Grants Commission, Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies (VIPS) and Amity University seeking their stand on the plea by November 12.

The court, however, did not pass any interim orders in the matter. The students, represented by advocate Bhuvan Gugnani, have contended in their petition that they have already given multiple exams under various notifications issued by respective colleges and now are being directed to again sit for examinations for the same course via offline mode.

"The changing nature of notifications and the short time span between exams has made it burdensome for the petitioners (students) to manage studies, online classes, distanced learning, internal exams of previous semester followed by internal exams of current semester clashing with current semester classes followed by physical examinations within a week," said the plea, filed through advocates Jahnvi Sharma and Paritosh Dhawan.

The PIL has contended that "a blanket notification forcing all students to give exams through physical mode causes immense duress to the mental health of the students and is violative of their Right to Life. Further, the extreme schedule of overlapping teaching of two semesters squeezed into one goes against their Right to Quality Education". During the hearing, the counsel for the students told the court that on Sunday, November 1, the BCI came out with a resolution allowing universities and colleges to conduct physical exams after getting no objection certificates from the state governments and state disaster management authorities.

They said that according to the resolution the universities/colleges have to inform the students about the holding of physical exams and give them the option of taking them now or after the pandemic situation normalises. The resolution also permits universities/colleges to hold online exams if they have the infrastructure to do so. However, the BCI resolutions are not being adhered to by GGSIPU, the petitioners' lawyers told the bench. In their plea, they have sought setting aside the September 30 notification of GGSIPU with regard to holding of minor tests via physical mode from November 2 for assessment purposes.