Punjab and Haryana HC imposes Rs 1 Lakh fine on Punjab University for wrongfully failing law student [Read Order]

Punjab: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has imposed a cost of Rs 1 lakh on Punjab University for wrongfully declaring a law student as having “failed” in a paper of the BA LLB 6th Semester.

Court Orders Punjab University to Pay Rs 1 Lakh for Unlawful Mark Deduction

Justice Jasgurpreet Singh Puri, while disposing of a writ petition, made important observations regarding the university’s action of scaling down the student’s marks without any legal basis.

The court noted that the petitioner, a student of the BA LLB Integrated 5-year course, had appeared for a re-examination in May 2023 for a paper in which he had previously failed. In this re-examination, the maximum marks were 80, of which the petitioner scored 54, which was above the passing percentage of 45%.

The court observed, “When a student has been subjected to an examination paper carrying a maximum of 80 marks, and he passes by securing 54 marks, then if the University needs to scale down and reduce the marks on a proportionate basis, the same must be done by adopting a formula prescribed under any law.”

University’s Scaling Down of Marks Without Legal Basis Declared Invalid by High Court

Addressing the university’s practice of scaling down marks, the court stated, “There is nothing on record, nor has it been shown to the Court—and, rather, it has been admitted by the officers present in Court and the learned counsel for the respondent-University—that no formula exists, nor is there any law or source of power by which such a power was exercised by the University’s examination department.”

The court emphasized that a student’s civil rights cannot be jeopardized by artificial analogies created by the university. It noted, “If the respondent-University wished to exercise the power to reduce the petitioner’s marks, it should have done so with the authority of law, not through analogies.”

Considering the seriousness of the issue, the court directed the Vice Chancellor to look into the matter and take corrective measures within two months. It stated, “Since the petitioner’s career has been affected by the wrongful actions of the respondent-University, he is entitled to exemplary costs in the form of compensation, assessed at Rs 1,00,000 (rupees one lakh only), which shall be paid by the respondent-University to the petitioner within two months from today.”

In conclusion, the court set aside the result that declared the petitioner as having failed and directed the university to issue the Detailed Marks Card (DMC) based on the actual marks obtained by the petitioner. The university was also directed to process the granting of the petitioner’s degree within two months.
 [Read Order]