MUMBAI: Calling for some "empathy and compassion", Bombay high court on Thursday directed SVKM’s Narsee Monjee College of Commerce and Economics to allow, by July 12, a student involved in a grave life-threatening car crash on the Bandra Worli sea-link on October 5 last year and hospitalised for long, to appear for B.Com first semester exam which he was disqualified from, for want of attendance.
Justices Gautam Patel and Neela Gokhale dictating the order in open court, said: "This is not a case where petitioner seeks to be excused for his own default he was a victim of a car accident we don't see why he should be made a victim a second time."
"With students sometimes softer hands are better," Justice Patel later said to the counsel for the ‘autonomous college’ who argued it was not bound by the directive of Mumbai University to allow the student to take the exam.
The HC said there should be some "empathy and some compassion" shown in such a case.
"We are not concerned whether the college is bound by directives of Mumbai university or not. We direct the Respondents 2-4-–attendance committee, college and controller of examinations—to permit the petitioner to complete the first semester of BCom examination."
The student, Siddharth Juyal had on June 21, through advocate Simran Vishwakarma, petitioned the HC seeking directions to enable him to take the first semester examination.
Juyal was involved in an accident on the sea link. “So severe vehicular accident and it was a result, in fact, of multiple collisions one after the other. Three cars were involved. There were five deaths. One person was in a coma, the petitioner was gravely injured," said the HC. He was admitted to a hospital and then advised bed rest for long after being discharged from the hospital and had sought leave of absence “as per attendance norms’’ noted the Court.
The student began attending classes after Diwali but five days before the first semester examination last December 10 he was notified he had only 52 percent attendance and two days later was debarred from taking the exam. He appealed on December 19 but it was in February that his plea was rejected. HE was however allowed to appear for the second semester examination which he passed and sought permission to appear in for the first semester.
On April 5, 2023, University of Mumbai, represented by Rui Rodrigues, directed the college to conduct the exam for him immediately. The HC noted, "This is an express direction to the college." The college, represented by S K Srivastava and Co, on May 12, wrote it was "autonomous" and was bound by its own attendance norms and not bound to follow what University says.
The HC bench of Justices Patel and Gokhale said “even if we accept such an argument, we are unable to accept how it can take such a stand at cost of student’s future…’’ and granted the student the relief he was seeking.
