A law student has turned to the Bombay High Court seeking justice after a professor at Pune’s DY Patil Law College allegedly tore up his exam answer sheet and faced subsequent proceedings against him.
On July 11, Justices AS Chandurkar and Rajesh S Patil responded to the plea, mandating the preservation of relevant CCTV footage.
According to the student’s petition, he requested additional sheets for his exams on June 8, claiming that the provided 36 pages were insufficient. However, during a June 11 exam, an assistant professor, allegedly intoxicated, taunted him about this request and tore up his answer sheet.
Despite assurances from the Principal that the issue would be resolved, the Chief Examination Officer allegedly coerced the student into admitting to using unfair means. When the student sought to replicate or at least piece together his torn answer sheet, the request was denied. He was eventually allowed to rewrite his answers but only permitted to fill in his name and other details after a lengthy wait, coupled with threats of rustication.
This series of events prompted the student to reach out to various authorities, including the Governor, the State Minister of Higher Education, and the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa. The Student Grievance Redressal Committee at the college, accused of bias, reportedly filed a prejudiced report against him.
Seeking relief, the student has petitioned the High Court to quash the report, form an impartial redressal committee, and grant him permission to attend college while his case is pending.
The petitioner is represented by advocates Sanket Bora, Vidhi Punmiya, Amiya Rajan Das, and Unnatti Thakkar from SPCM Legal, while the State of Maharashtra is represented by Assistant Government Pleader Kavita N Solunke.
