The Bombay High Court today refused to stay or postpone the first semester examinations for LLM students of the Mumbai University.

A bench of Justices B R Gavai and B P Colabawalla, however, permitted those students who were not prepared for the exams that are scheduled to begin tomorrow, to write their first semester exams at a later stage.

The bench said the university must not treat the non- appearance of such students in these exams as failure. And, instead, they must be permitted to give their first semester exams simultaneously with their second semester exams.

The order came while the bench was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL), and a writ petition filed by some LLM students from the university.

They had claimed in their plea that due to the delay in declaration of the results for the university's undergraduate courses last academic year, the admissions to the LLM courses got delayed.

There are a total of 660 students currently enrolled in the first semester LLM course at the Mumbai University.

While about 600 of such students secured admissions between October and November last year, 41 of these students were admitted on December 26 last year. The admission process for the remaining 19 students was completed only on January 19 this year.

The pleas claimed that under such circumstances, it was unfair to expect these students to appear for the exams within a few days of their admission.

University's counsel Rui Rodriguez, however, argued that the court must not stay or postpone the exams as many students, especially those who had secured admissions early, might be prepared and ready for the first semester exams.

The bench thus, said that in such a case, it would be prudent to give a choice to the students.

"Since there is no representation from the students who got admissions on time and thus, might be prepared for the exams that begin tomorrow, it will be unfair to pass a blanket order staying the exams," the bench said.

"However, we must not prejudice the rights of those students who got admissions late," the bench said.

"Thus, those students who do not wish to appear for the first semester exams beginning tomorrow, must be given the liberty to give these exams with their second semester exams.

Their absence in the exams beginning tomorrow must not be treated as failure by the university," the bench noted.