Patna High Court
The Bihar Engineering University vs Aditya Kumar on 15 May, 2025
Author: Partha Sarthy
Bench: Partha Sarthy
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
Letters Patent Appeal No.1164 of 2024
In
Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.15696 of 2024
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1. The Bihar Engineering University through its Vice Chancellor, Office at
Bihar Engineering University, 6th Floor, Examination Block, Aryabhatta
Knowledge Unviersity, Mithapur, Patna, Bihar-800001.
2. The Registrar, Bihar Engineering University, 6th Floor, Examination Block,
Aryabhatta Knowledge Unviersity, Mithapur, Patna, Bihar-800001.
3. The Controller of Examination, Bihar Engineering Univesity, 6th Floor,
Examination Block, Aryabhatta Knowledge Unviersity, Mithapur, Patna,
Bihar-800001.
... ... Appellant/s
Versus
1. Aditya Kumar son of Amar Kumar, resident of Kalyani Bara Lane, P.S -
Town Thana, Muzaffarpur, Bihar - 842001.
2. Sanjeev Kumar son of Bhagwan Babu Yadav, resident of Bhawanipur,
Singhawara, Darbhanga, Bihar 847104.
3. Sakshi Kumari, D/o Satish Prasad Gupta, resident of Koat Bazar, P.S-
Sitamarhi, P.O - Dumra, Sitamarhi, Bihar - 843302.
4. Vinay Kumar, son of Shivnarayan Ram, resident of Sitwapur, P.S Shikarpur,
P.O - D.K.Shikarpur, West Champaran, Bihar - 845455.
5. Rohit Kumar, S/o Uday Sah, resident of Gaushala Road, Ambedkar Chowk,
Sitamarhi, Bihar - 843302.
6. Sambhav Kumar Singh S/o Binay Kumar Singh, resident of Parsa Bazar,
New Rahimpur, Parsa Sampatchak Road, Patna-804453.
7. Prince Kumar, S/o Ajay Kumar, resident of Village Kabariya, P.O Kabariya,
Darbhanga, Bihar 846009.
Patna High Court L.P.A No.1164 of 2024 dt.15-05-2025
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8. Sandeep Kumar, S/o Mithlesh Paswan, resident of Village- Vrindawan, P.O-
Vrindawan, P.S- Tariyani, Sheohar, Bihar-843128.
9. The Principal, Sitamarhi Institute of Technology, Sitamarhi, Gosaipur,
Dumra, Sitamarhi - 843302.
10. The Examination Controller, Sitamarhi Institute of Technology, Sitamarhi,
Gosaipur, Dumra, Sitamarhi - 843302
... ... Respondent/s
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Appearance :
For the Appellant/s : Mr. P.K. Shahi, Sr. Advocate
Mr. Satyam Shivam Sundaram, Advocate
Mr. Ankit, Advocate
For the Respondent/s : Ms. Nivedita Nirvikar, Sr. Advocate
Mr. Shashank Shekhar, Advocate
Mr. Amarshakti, Advocate
Ms. Asmita Bharti, Advocate
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CORAM: HONOURABLE THE ACTING CHIEF JUSTICE
and
HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE PARTHA SARTHY
ORAL JUDGMENT
(Per: HONOURABLE THE ACTING CHIEF JUSTICE)
Date : 15-05-2025
Re.: L.P.A. No. 1164 of 2024
The matter was heard yesterday and an order
was passed in open Court. However, some clarification
was required on facts. Therefore, the case was listed
under the heading "To Be Mentioned".
Patna High Court L.P.A No.1164 of 2024 dt.15-05-2025
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Re.: I.A. No. 01 of 2024
2. Mr. P.K. Shahi, the learned Senior Advocate
for the appellants presses the aforesaid interlocutory
application for condoning the delay of 02 days in
preferring this appeal.
3. For the reasons stated in the application, the
delay of 02 days in preferring this appeal is, hereby,
condoned.
4. I.A. No. 01 of 2024 stands allowed.
Re.: L.P.A. No. 1164 of 2024
5. We have heard Mr. P.K. Shahi, the learned
Senior Advocate for the appellants and Ms. Nivedita
Nirvikar, the learned Senior Advocate for the
respondents/writ petitioners.
6. The writ petitioners are students of B.Tech
Course in Sitamarhi Institute of Technology, Sitamarhi,
affiliated to Bihar Engineering University, Patna.
7. The writ petitioners were not permitted to
appear in the 5th semester examination on the ground of
Patna High Court L.P.A No.1164 of 2024 dt.15-05-2025
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their not possessing requisite attendance percentage. The
requirement is of having 75% attendance before
permission could be granted for appearing in any
semester examination. All the writ petitioners were
having much less than 75% of attendance. However,
later, with the intervention of the Court, they were
permitted to appear in the 6th semester examination after
having attended the classes for 6th semester.
8. Similar situation occurred when with the
intervention of this Court, they attended the classes of 7 th
semester and also wrote their examination.
9. All this happened even without the writ
petitioners having appeared in the 5th semester
examination.
10. An attempt was made by the writ petitioners
thereafter for seeking permission from the Court to write
the 8th semester examination.
11. The learned Single Judge vide his interim
order dated 08.10.2024, permitted the writ petitioners to
Patna High Court L.P.A No.1164 of 2024 dt.15-05-2025
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appear in the final examination of 6 th semester, which was
scheduled to be conducted from 14.10.2024.
12. As noted above, with all these concessions to
the writ petitioners, they have attended classes for 6 th and
7th semesters and have also written their examination for
the 6th and 7th semesters. However, the results have not
been declared for want of the passing certificate of 5 th
semester.
13. The appellants/Bihar Engineering University
has questioned the aforesaid interim order dated
08.10.2024
on the ground that such concessions are
misplaced, especially in view of the deteriorating
academic environment in the University and the colleges.
14. Initially, the college in question was affiliated
to Aryabhatta Knowledge University and only later, such
colleges have been affiliated with Bihar Engineering
University.
15. However, the rules and the regulations
prevalent when the college was affiliated with Aryabhatta
Patna High Court L.P.A No.1164 of 2024 dt.15-05-2025
Knowledge University, apply even now with the same
vigour.
16. The regulations provide the right of the
Institute to cancel the admission of any student at any
stage of his career on the ground of either (i)
unsatisfactory academic performance or (ii) irregular
attendance in classes or (iii) indiscipline. The regulations
further provide that a minimum of 75% attendance would
be mandatory in each semester for permission to any
student to appear in the end of the semester examination.
17. The other provision of the regulations,
referred to above, is that any student who is prevented
from appearing at an examination, either as a measure of
disciplinary action or for adopting malpractice at an
examination, may register for the subject(s) as backlog
papers in the following semester. Such debarred students
would attend the classes as per the rules before they
became entitled to write the examination at the end of the
semester.
Patna High Court L.P.A No.1164 of 2024 dt.15-05-2025
18. However, considering that the case involves
the career of many students, we explored some way of
salvaging their career.
19. We had requested Mr. P.K. Shahi, the
learned Senior Advocate to liaise with the University and
tell us as to how the writ petitioners' journey in education
could be permitted to be completed with minimum losses.
20. We must, upfront, state that such an effort
was made also for the reason that with the intervention of
the Courts, such piquent situation had arisen, which
required course correction.
21. Mr. Shahi, after consulting with the Vice-
Chancellor of the Bihar Engineering University, submitted
that it is now possible only to permit the writ petitioners
to appear in the 5th semester examination but after they
have attended the classes of the 5 th semester with the
batch of 2023-2027.
22. The reason for not permitting the writ
petitioners to appear in the 5 th semester with the batch of
Patna High Court L.P.A No.1164 of 2024 dt.15-05-2025
2022-2026 is that in the middle of the semester,
examination is held and the marks obtained therein are
added in the final semester examination result. The 5 th
semester of 2022-2026 batch is about to be completed.
23. The writ petitioners are of the 2021-2025
batch.
24. The University is also ready to permit the
writ petitioners to go straightaway to the 8 th semester,
after they would successfully complete the course with
requisite attendance of the 5th semester and pass in the
5th semester examination along with the batch of 2023-
2027 students, in which case, their results of 6 th and 7th
semesters also shall be declared along with the result of
5th semester.
25. This definitely would make the writ
petitioners lose a couple of years in completing their
journey, but no other way appears to us in sight, to help
out the writ petitioners.
26. With great reluctance, Ms. Nivedita Nirvikar,
Patna High Court L.P.A No.1164 of 2024 dt.15-05-2025
the learned Senior Advocate appearing for the writ
petitioners/respondents, submitted that if nothing else is
possible, the students/writ petitioners would be ready to
accept this offer from the University.
27. This concession, we must clarify, is also
subject to caveats: (i) that the writ petitioners shall
immediately join the classes along with 2023-2027 batch
in the 5th semester; (ii) maintain a minimum of 75%
attendance; and (iii) write the examination at the end of
the semester.
28. If they pass in the 5th semester, as noted
above, their results of 5th, 6th and 7th semesters would be
declared simultaneously, entitling them to attend classes
in the 8th semester with whichever batch which goes to
the 8th semester at that time and complete the academic
journey thereafter.
29. We find such concession given by the
University to be most reasonable and in the interest of the
students.
Patna High Court L.P.A No.1164 of 2024 dt.15-05-2025
30. Thus, without interfering with the interim
order impugned in the present appeal for the reason of
the order having taken its effect, we endorse and ratify
the afore-noted scheme in which the writ petitioners
would write their 5th semester examination and since they
have already written their examinations for 6 th and 7th
semesters, their results would be published
simultaneously with 5th semester and if they pass in all
the semesters, they would go to the 8th semester to
attend classes and write the examination.
31. We concur with the scheme suggested and
dispose off the appeal accordingly.
32. Interlocutory application(s), if any, also
stand closed.
(Ashutosh Kumar, ACJ)
(Partha Sarthy, J)
Sauravkrsinha/
Sujit-
AFR/NAFR NAFR
CAV DATE NA
Uploading Date 16.05.2025
Transmission Date NA
