Law Student Can Not Be Stopped from Exams for Low Attendance. High Court Directs BCI to Review Norms.

BACKGROUND:

Sushant Rohilla, a 3rd year law student of Amity Law School in (Delhi), affiliated to IP University, Delhi, died by suicide at his home on August 10, 2016, after he was barred him from sitting for semester exams over less attendance.

A petition was thus initiated by the Supreme Court after his death. It was transferred to the Delhi high court in March 2017.

A Division Bench of Hon’ble Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Justice Amit Sharma delivered the order on 3 November 2025.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS OF THE CASE: Court’s Analysis & Observations:

A division bench made up of Justice Prathiba M Singh and Justice Amit Sharma stated, “No law college, university, or institution is allowed to impose attendance requirements that exceed the minimum percentage set by the BCI.”
A bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Amit Sharma has instructed the Bar Council of India (BCI) to thoroughly review the mandatory attendance requirements for both the three-year and five-year law programs, highlighting that legal education goes beyond just sitting in a classroom.
The bench expressed concerns about a strict attendance-only approach, noting that “just being present in class isn’t enough for a well-rounded education.” They stressed the importance of students engaging in activities like moot courts, seminars, mock parliaments, debates, and court visits, which should all be acknowledged and credited as part of their academic experience.
Furthermore, they stated that no institution should impose attendance rules that exceed a minimum percentage set by the BCI.
The Bar Council of India was specifically tasked with “reassessing the mandatory attendance standards for the three-year and five-year LLB courses in India.” This review should align with the court’s insights, the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020, and the 2023 UGC regulations.
As part of this evaluation, the BCI “should adjust attendance norms to allow credit for moot courts, seminars, mock parliaments, debates, and attending court hearings.”
The Court also mentioned that students should be assigned home projects and rigorous practical work in legal aid clinics or similar organizations to help compensate for any attendance shortfalls during the semester.

MY OBSERVATIONS:

Practical implications

If you are a law student: Even if you fall short of attendance, your institution cannot automatically bar you from exams or progression solely on that ground, according to this judgment.
Institutions must still comply with attendance norms, but cannot use them as an absolute barrier; discretionary relief must be considered.
The final attendance policy may change once the BCI amends its regulations; until then, the above interim directions apply.
Colleges should update their internal policies, grievance redressal systems and communications to reflect this judgment.

Finally, as per Judgement

The judgment applies to law students (3-year/5-year LLB courses) in institutions recognised by the BCI.
This is an interim ruling pending formal amendments by the regulatory bodies; thus, institutions may still apply attendance rules but must not deny exam access solely for shortfall.
If attendance shortfall is combined with other issues (e.g., academic failure, misconduct), the institution may have other grounds but purely attendance-based detention is no longer permissible per this order.

As per my observation in Legal Academia, BCI is having very good norms in term of Attendance and other rules but implementation is lacking everywhere except good law schools because of good facilities like qualified Teachers, good infra, taking care of the students.

In many law schools’ teachers are very less as per the ratio of student’s teachers, not qualified teachers, lack of good infra because of all these things the interest of the students are very less to attend the classes.

By: Dr. Dharmender Patial

(LLB, LLM, PhD, IIM Kashipur Alumnus)

“From Dreaming to Doing: The Hidden Path”

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