NEW DELHI: A major controversy erupted at the Faculty of Law, Aligarh Muslim University on Monday after 81 out of 124 final year BA LLB students were detained over alleged attendance shortages, just days before their final semester examinations and close to the All India Bar Examination registration deadline.
The results, announced on April 18, nearly four months after the December examinations, saw 81 students marked with a ‘Y’ grade, indicating detention.
Students claimed the move came without prior notice or any transparent attendance record, despite them being allowed to sit for exams, complete internships, and fulfil academic requirements.
Calling it a “collapse of lawful academic governance,” students approached the Bar Council of India, alleging violations of university norms and a Delhi High Court ruling on attendance.
They argued that mandatory procedures, such as monthly attendance disclosures, were never followed, with records maintained through informal means like loose sheets and messaging platforms.
The results were declared just days before the final semester examinations and close to the registration deadline for the All India Bar Examination, leaving students with no opportunity to address any alleged shortfall.
“We were informed only when the results were announced. We took our exams in December and then we went for our internship in the Supreme Court, which was part of the 10th Semester protocol and now after all this, we get to know, we have been detained. It is terrible,” one of the students said.
Following protests at the faculty, students alleged they were “manhandled” and subjected to intimidation by the proctorial team.
Amid rising tensions, final year students wrote to the Aligarh District Magistrate, seeking permission and protection for a peaceful assembly.
In their representation, they expressed apprehension of coercive action and possible selective targeting of those raising grievances. They urged authorities to ensure their right to protest peacefully, without excessive force or arbitrary action.
The students have also put forward a set of demands, including withdrawal and re declaration of results after revoking detentions, scrapping attendance criteria for the current session, and nullifying disputed attendance records. They have further sought safeguards against disciplinary action linked to their protest.
Speaking on the issue, Chairman of the Department of Law, Professor M Zafar Mahfooz Naumani, said, “The detention has been done following the attendance records of the students."
Echoing the same view, Dean of the Faculty, Professor Shakeel Ahmed, said, “The detentions were made following the UGC guidelines and now the attendance is marked subject wise, and that was the reason a lot of students failed to cover up. We had been warning them earlier also. Now the way they are behaving is also not acceptable. These students held the entire faculty hostage for over 12 hours. They had locked the main entrance gate. We did not respond to avoid any sort of violence.”
He added, “We may later look up this issue again and check if they did any internships in the last two months such that the attendance can be sorted.”