The Supreme Court has stayed a key direction in a Delhi High Court judgment that barred law colleges from preventing students with insufficient attendance from appearing in examinations.
A bench of justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta passed the interim order while issuing notice on a petition filed by the Bar Council of India (BCI) challenging the November 2025 judgment of the Delhi high court.
The court observed that the consequences of the high court ruling were being felt by law institutions, particularly National Law Universities (NLUs), with students increasingly resisting mandatory attendance requirements.
The bench also questioned the delay in the BCI approaching the apex court against the judgment, with senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi arguing that the Delhi High Court judgment had virtually rewarded indiscipline among students.
The Delhi High Court had held in November 2025 that students enrolled in recognised law institutions could not be detained from examinations or denied academic progression solely because of inadequate attendance.
The ruling arose out of proceedings linked to the alleged suicide of law student Sushant Rohilla in 2017 at Amity University.
