Panjab University Fined INR 1 Lakh by High Court for Unjustly Failing Law Student

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has fined Panjab University INR 1 Lakh for wrongfully failing a law student in the BA LLB 6th Semester. Know details here

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has levied a fine of INR 1 lakh on Panjab University for wrongfully declaring a law student as 'fail' in the BA LLB 6th semester exam. Acknowledging the seriousness of the matter, which could jeopardise the student’s career, Justice Jasgurpreet Singh Puri has instructed the Vice Chancellor to address the issue and implement corrective actions within two months.

Changes in marking ratios to 80:20 for theory and internal assessment

At the time of the student’s admission in the 2016-17 academic session, the marking criteria followed a 60:40 ratio, with 60 marks allocated for the theory paper and 40 for internal assessment. However, the regulations were amended in 2022, retroactively effective from December 2018, changing the ratio to 80:20 for theory and internal assessment, respectively. Under the new rules, students were required to secure a combined 45 percent in both the internal assessment and the theory paper.

When the student appeared for the examination in May 2023, the maximum marks for the paper were 80, and he successfully scored 54. However, the university scaled down his marks from 54 out of 80 to 41 out of 60, leading to him being declared 'fail.'

During the hearing, the Court questioned the university’s decision, asking if any legal provision or instruction justified the scaling of marks. The Court further stated that the university must pay the imposed penalty, with the Vice Chancellor free to recover the amount from any officials found responsible during the departmental inquiry.

The student had challenged the result declared in December 2023 of the paper 'Land Law and Rent Laws' for which re-appear examination was held in May 2023. He had earlier failed in the paper when the exam was taken in May 2019.

Court's decision to grant compensation for the University's misconduct

“Since the career of the petitioner has been affected because of wrongful action of the respondent-University, he is entitled for exemplary costs in the nature of compensation which are assessed as Rs.1,00,000 (rupees one lac only) which shall be paid by the respondent-University to the petitioner within a period of two months from today,” the Court observed.

“The only answer which they have given to this Court is that it is a past practice and by virtue of the same, they have been converting the criteria/formula for assessment of marks of their own at the clerical and superintendent level but there is no instructions or any provision of law of University despite the fact that the petitioner was subjected to an examination paper in which the maximum marks as reproduced above were 80,” the Court said.

Explanation of how marks were reduced based on the new ratio

The University attempted to justify its decision by arguing that, although the student belonged to the 2016 academic session, he appeared for the exam in May 2023, which was based on the updated 80:20 ratio instead of the original 60:40. As a result, his marks were proportionately reduced. However, the Court rejected this reasoning, calling it perverse and entirely unsustainable.

“When a student has been subjected to his examination paper carrying maximum marks of 80 and he passes the examination by securing 54 marks then in case the University needs to scale down and reduce the marks on proportionate basis then the same has to be done by adopting any formula prescribed under any law. There is nothing on record nor it has been shown to the Court and rather it has been so stated by the officers who are present in the Court and learned counsel for the respondent-University that there is no formula designed and there is no law or source of power by which such a power was exercised by the examination department of the University” It added the decision was based on whims and fancies which affected the career of a student. It was not only illegal and perverse but it is also deprecated by this Court, the Single Judge said.

The Court also rejected the argument of past practice and said the same is not supported by any provision of law

“If errors or illegal actions have been committed by the respondent-University, the same cannot be applied to the present case merely because the same is a past practice. The respondent-University is always within its rights to incorporate any provision having a force of law to exercise a power for the purpose of creating any equality or proportionate distribution of marks which is absent in the present case. However, the same cannot be done only on the basis of precedents which ultimately deprives the rights of their own students,” it said.

The Court further noted that the university was fully aware that the student should have been given a theory paper worth 60 marks, but instead, an 80-mark paper was administered to reduce the university's own workload.

“But the consequence of the same was that the marks of petitioner were reduced by scaling down from 54 to 41 which resulted in less than 45% marks and failed the petitioner. Such scaling down by the administrative staff of examination branch was without any provision or authority of law,” the Court said.

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