Following the High Court direction to Karnataka State Law University to decide on the mode of examination within 10 days, the university has decided to stick to its earlier decision of holding offline examinations for the second and fourth semesters of 3-year LLB course and announced the dates on February 24.
According to an official communication sent to colleges by Registrar (Evaluation) G.B. Patil, the decision to hold offline examination was taken during the Academic Council meeting on February 24, and the time table for holding examinations from March 7 was being announced with the approved of the Vice Chancellor.
The registrar has also clarified that the mandatory notice period of 60 days had already been complied with as the examinations were notified on September 17, 2021.
Confusion among students
The examination notification has come as a big disappointment for law students who are now attending classes of the third and fifth semesters. After the High Court of Karnataka directed the KSLU to decide among the different modes of examinations, several students were hoping that the university would opt for one of the modes specified by the Bar Council of India (BCI), other than the offline mode. They were taken by surprise by the notification on February 24 on offline examination.
The issue of holding offline examinations after the beginning of classes of the next semester had caused confusion among students, forcing several of them to launch an agitation, including a hunger strike. The issue was raised during the recent winter session of the legislature in Belagavi.
However, as KSLU stuck to its stand, some students moved the Dharwad bench of the High Court of Karnataka, where a single judge bench quashed the examination notification and ordered for promotion of the students.
KSLU filed an appeal, after hearing which, a divisional bench of the High Court of Karnataka comprising Justice S.G. Pandit and Justice Anant Ramanath Hegde set aside the order of the single judge bench and directed KSLU to decide on the mode of examination, i.e., online, offline, blended, online open book exam (OBE), assignment based evaluation (ABE), research papers as suggested by BCI. The court had given KSLU 10 days to decide and announce the mode of examination, and accordingly KSLU announced its decision on February 24.
The KSLU students, who had filed a writ petition, are expected to consult legal experts on the next course of action.
