The Supreme Court has granted one-time relief to law students affected by confusion over mandatory attendance norms, holding that students whose academic session was ongoing when the Delhi High Court relaxed attendance requirements in November 2025 cannot be barred from appearing in their final examinations for that academic session solely on the ground of shortage of attendance.
The Bench of Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice R Mahadevan clarified that the relief was confined to the academic session that was in progress when the Delhi High Court delivered its judgment on November 3, 2025. The Court directed that such students shall not be detained from appearing in the final examinations due to attendance shortage.
It further ordered that students who had missed the examinations, either wholly or partly, because of attendance deficiency must be allowed to appear in the supplementary examinations for the same academic session.
The Bench made it clear that the relief is a one-time measure necessitated by the legal uncertainty created after the Delhi High Court diluted attendance norms in a suo motu case arising from the suicide of a law student and directed the Bar Council of India (BCI) to reconsider the attendance regulations.
Following that judgment, the BCI issued a circular directing law colleges and universities not to detain students from examinations or academic progression solely because of shortage of attendance while the attendance norms were under review.
The Supreme Court observed that many students had acted under a bona fide belief that attendance shortage would not prevent them from appearing in examinations because the Delhi High Court’s directions had effectively been accepted by the BCI. It noted that several students consequently stopped attending classes regularly, relying on the prevailing legal position.
The Court further observed that after its interim order dated May 26, 2026 prospectively stayed the operation of the Delhi High Court’s directions, several law colleges and universities began debarring students with attendance shortages from appearing in final and supplementary examinations.
This resulted in multiple applications before the Supreme Court and petitions before various High Courts, with students contending that they had developed a legitimate expectation, based on the High Court’s judgment and the BCI’s circular, that attendance shortage would not prevent them from taking examinations.
During the hearing, counsel appearing for the students argued that the confusion had been caused by the BCI itself, as it had directed universities to comply with the Delhi High Court’s judgment and warned of consequences for non-compliance. It was also submitted that the sudden debarment of students had serious academic and mental health consequences.
Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for NMIMS, opposed the grant of relief, arguing that at least six High Courts had taken a view contrary to the Delhi High Court on mandatory attendance and that students could not rely on a single High Court judgment to escape the consequences of attendance shortages. He contended that the Delhi High Court’s decision could not be treated as laying down the law for institutions across the country.
Rejecting that contention for the limited purpose of the ongoing academic session, the Supreme Court held that the prospective operation of its May 26, 2026 stay order meant that students who had relied on the Delhi High Court judgment and the BCI’s response should not suffer the loss of an academic year. The Bench observed that such students deserved the benefit of doubt as a one-time measure and should not be prejudiced by the subsequent stay.
At the same time, the Court indicated that the larger issue concerning mandatory attendance requirements in legal education remains open. It observed during the hearing that the Bar Council of India would have to take a holistic view on whether the Delhi High Court’s approach to attendance norms was legally sustainable. The matter has been listed for final hearing and disposal on August 25, 2026.
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