Internship with CJ no excuse for low attendance: HC

 Swati.Deshpande@timesofindia.com 18.04.2026

Mumbai : An internship with the Bombay high court chief justice did not cut any ice when a law college student cited it as a reason for low attendance, thus barring him from appearing for exams. 

The Bombay high court on Friday denied urgent permission to a second year Pune law college student to appear for the fourth-semester examination. The student pleaded his attendance shortfall be dispensed with as he was in a judicial internship with the HC chief justice. 

“Your attendance is 3%,” remarked Justices Riyaz Chagla and Advait Sethna while hearing his plea before dismissing ad interim relief to enable him to appear for the exams. The student’s lawyer argued the college, ILS Law College, Pune, conducted only 162-odd hours of lectures when it was required to conduct 432 hours. The HC bench orally questioned, “So if they are at fault, you should also be?” The lawyer said he would show mathematically how his plea for necessary 75% attendance was justified, as he was doing an internship with the CJ. 

The college counsel said, “Internship is compulsory for students of third to fifth years.” The student’s counsel persisted after citing a Delhi HC judgment to say if he was in Delhi he would have been allowed to appear, as would he also, had he been in a private university, pleading the student’s fundamental right to equality was being flouted. ILS Law College in its reply on Friday said, “As per Ordinance 70, the shortage of attendance can be condoned on account of bona fide illness or any other compelling reason... ”