The bench led by Justice Suraj Govindaraj, who set aside a notification issued by Karnataka State Law University (KSLU) on December 6, 2024.
Karnataka: The Karnataka High Court has ruled that law students who studied the Indian Penal Code (IPC) but failed their exams cannot be required to take supplementary exams in Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), a subject they were not taught.
The bench led by Justice Suraj Govindaraj, who set aside a notification issued by Karnataka State Law University (KSLU) on December 6, 2024.
Justice Suraj Govindaraj, presiding over the single bench, remarked, “…students who have already attended IPC classes and failed the corresponding examination cannot be expected to sit for the BNS examination, as it was not part of their course curriculum.”
The court highlighted that students who attended IPC classes and appeared for its exams cannot be expected to take exams in BNS, as they were never taught the subject during their course. The ruling came in response to a petition filed by Sachin R and Prathisitha Nagar, represented by Advocate Pavana Chandra Shetty H.
The petitioners argued that they had studied IPC as part of their curriculum and had no exposure to or instruction in BNS. Therefore, it was unfair to require them to sit for an examination on a subject they had not learned.
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KSLU, through Advocate Girish Kumar, contended that since the IPC had been repealed and replaced by the BNS in the curriculum, exams on the repealed law could no longer be conducted. However, the court rejected this argument, stating that the notification could not be applied to students who had already studied IPC under the previous syllabus.
Justice Govindaraj noted that similar cases had been brought before the court earlier and advised the university to address the issue. The court directed KSLU to hold IPC exams for affected students and not to enforce BNS exams on them. It clarified that this decision only applies to students who had studied IPC and does not extend to future students who will be taught BNS under the updated curriculum.
Case Title: Sachin R. and Another v. Karnataka State Law University and Another [WP No. 34457 of 2024]
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