Supreme Court stays Delhi HC verdict on law students’ attendance
The Supreme Court on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, set aside the Delhi High Court order barring students who fail to meet the minimum attendance requirement of law colleges and universities from appearing for the exams, as it observed that all national law universities are in a “difficult situation”.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta passed the order while hearing arguments, including the case filed by the Bar Council of India (BCI), challenging the Supreme Court’s November 2025 order.
The Board, which published the hearing defense on July 21, 2026, said: “Meanwhile, the effect and operation of paragraph 249 of the disputed decision will continue to be suspended. However, the same situation will also be valid going forward.”
The Supreme Court had given directions regarding attendance norms in paragraph 249 of its judgment.
The Supreme Court has also made it clear that the pendency of these pleas before it will not prevent the High Courts, where similar accession-related petitions are pending, from deciding these issues.
During the hearing, the Bench asked senior advocate Manan Kumar Mishra, who is also the President of BCI, why it took almost six months to challenge the Supreme Court order.
“All NLUs [National Law University] They are suffering,” Bench observed, adding that students do not want compulsory attendance.
The bench said the Delhi High Court’s order did not stop students from attending classes.
He observed what teachers at NLUs and other universities would do if students did not attend classes.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who appeared in the case, said the Supreme Court’s decision should be postponed.
Bench asked, “Does the decision give students the right not to attend classes?” he said and issued a statement labeling BCI’s plea as a pending plea that raises a similar issue.
“No student enrolled in any recognized law college, university or institution in India shall be debarred from appearing for examination or debarred from further academic pursuits or career advancement by reason of non-availability of minimum attendance,” the Supreme Court had said in its judgment.
The Supreme Court had also asked the BCI to reconsider compulsory attendance norms for three-year and five-year LLB courses.
On May 13, the top court agreed to hear a defense challenging the Supreme Court decision.
The Supreme Court had observed that if such a position were adopted, hostels of NLUs and law colleges could become “mere accommodation and lodging facilities”.
The Supreme Court had said that it was of the strong view that the norms of attendance in education in general and law education in particular cannot be made so stringent that it would lead to mental trauma, let alone the death of a student.
The court had given the order while reviewing a suo motu petition initiated by the Supreme Court and sent to the Supreme Court regarding the death of law student Sushant Rohilla in 2016, alleging that he was not allowed to appear for semester exams due to compulsory absence.
Rohilla, a third-year law student, was found dead at his home in New Delhi on August 10, 2016; His university had allegedly barred him from taking term exams due to required absences. He left a note saying he was a failure and didn’t want to live.
The Supreme Court had directed that it will be mandatory for all educational institutions and universities to constitute grievance redressal committees (GRCs) as per the University Grants Commission Regulations, 2023.
Observing that GRCs were meant to protect the interests of students, including their mental health, he had directed the UGC to initiate consultations and consider amending the UGC regulations.
The Supreme Court had said that the BCI should amend participation norms to allow participation in moot courts, seminars, mock parliament, debates and court hearings.
It had added that no law school, university or institution should be allowed to mandate attendance norms exceeding the minimum percentage fixed by the BCI under the Legal Education Rules.
It was published – 26 May 2026 17:42 IST
