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The Court made it clear that this kind of temporary remedy would depend on how the students' petitions turned out in the end.
Two law students at Bengaluru's SVKM's Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) who had been barred from taking exams due to a lack of attendance were given temporary respite by the Karnataka High Court on Friday.
They were given permission by Justice Ashok S. Kinagi to take their fourth-year BBA LLB (Hons) semester VIII exams, which are set to start on July 6.
However, the Court noted that any remedy would be subject to the eventual conclusion in the action brought by them before the High Court. "The respondents are directed to permit the petitioner to sit for the ensuing examination planned to be held in July 2026. The Court stated that the petitioner's appearance for the aforementioned examination would depend on the outcome of the writ petition.
The Court also ordered the petitioners to submit an undertaking as a condition of the interim remedy, indicating that they would not seek any equity just because they were allowed to present for the examination if their petitions were ultimately dismissed.
The students petitioned the court to contest both the Bar Council of India's (BCI) attendance requirements and their ban from taking the test.
Yesterday, the Court asked BCI and NMIMS to respond to the case.
On behalf of the BCI, advocate Anubha Srivastava took notice. The State of Karnataka's notification was accepted by High Court Government Pleader Rashmi Rao.
The students questioned the BCI's mandatory attendance requirements and the university's choice to enforce them.
They argued that Rule 12 of the Bar Council of India Legal Education Rules, 2008 ought to be deemed illegal, arbitrary, and in violation of Articles 14, 19, and 21 of the Constitution, as well as ultra vires the Advocates Act, 1961.
Additionally, the petitioners asked the Court to invalidate communications from their university dated April 28, April 29, and June 15 that prohibited the students from taking the VIII semester exams and any future re-examinations.
Additionally, they asked the institution to grant them permission to take the VIII semester exam starting on July 6 and to announce their results, subject to any restrictions set by the court.
The Court gave them this relief on Friday in its interim order.
Advocate Chintan Chinnappa represented the petitioners, with assistance from Spectrum Legal's Venkatesh Kamath and Vybhav Nair.
