SC denies exam relief to 16 suspended Kerala Sanskrit university students

The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to interfere with a Kerala High Court order that withdrew interim relief allowing 16 suspended students of Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit to appear for their semester examinations, as per PTI.

A Bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Alok Aradhe, however, asked the High Court's single judge to decide at the earliest the students' pending petition challenging their suspension. It also recorded the university's undertaking that special examinations would be held if the High Court eventually ruled in the students' favour, ensuring that their academic interests were not affected.

The students had challenged the High Court division Bench's November 3 order, which overturned an October 30 direction by a single judge permitting them to take the examinations.STUDENTS ALLEGE 64-DAY SUSPENSION WITHOUT INQUIRY

Senior advocate P V Dinesh, appearing for the students, told the Supreme Court that they had remained suspended for 64 days without an enquiry, making the action punitive. He alleged that the university was deliberately delaying the proceedings and creating a situation in which the students would lose the opportunity to take the examinations.

Advocate P S Sudheer, representing the university, opposed the plea and argued that the students did not meet the minimum attendance requirement for appearing in the examinations. “University have its own discipline,” Justice Narasimha observed during the hearing, according to PTI.

Dinesh said the students had staged a mock funeral of defunct lights and microphone systems on the campus to highlight the lack of basic amenities, but the university had taken serious objection to the protest.

The university informed the court that the students' petition challenging their suspension was listed before the single judge on November 17.

“We are not inclined to interfere; the single judge is requested to take up and dispose of the matter expeditiously,” the Supreme Court Bench said. It also recorded the university's assurance that special examinations would be conducted if the students secured a favourable order.WHY WERE THE 16 STUDENTS SUSPENDED?

The students, who belong to the Students' Federation of India, were suspended on September 1 pending an enquiry into an incident during a protest on the university campus on August 13.

The university alleged that the students had staged a mock cremation of the vice-chancellor, manhandled her and attempted to damage her vehicle. The students maintained that their protest was against non-functional stage lights.

After their suspension, the students approached the Kerala High Court, arguing that they were being prevented from attending classes and that the action had adversely affected their attendance and academic prospects.HOW THE KERALA HIGH COURT ORDERS CHANGED

On October 30, a single judge allowed them to appear for the semester examinations, subject to the outcome of their petition against the suspension. The university challenged that order, arguing that the students did not fulfil eligibility requirements, including minimum attendance and internal assessment criteria.

On November 3, the division Bench set aside the interim relief, observing that the single judge had effectively granted the final relief sought in the petition without sufficient pleadings to support the students' entitlement to take the examinations.

The students then moved the Supreme Court, contending that their attendance shortage was caused by the suspension and that allowing them to provisionally appear for the examinations would not amount to granting final relief in their challenge.

The Supreme Court ultimately declined to intervene but asked the High Court to decide the suspension challenge quickly, while recording the university's assurance that the students would be given special examinations if they succeeded in their case.- EndsRead | Kerala Sanskrit University row: 16 suspended students move SC over exam banRead | Kerala High Court blocks suspended SFI students from taking exams