Gurugram: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed Panjab University to conduct a special examination for a law student who was handed the wrong question paper during her re-exam.
The error threatened to cost her an entire academic year.
Justice Kuldeep Tiwari, while allowing the writ petition filed by the student, Ruksana, observed that the student cannot be made to suffer for an irregularity committed at the examination centre by university-appointed functionaries.
The petitioner, enrolled in the LL.B. (three-year) course at the Panjab University, had cleared all her examinations except one paper, Law of Crimes-II (old) from the 4th semester.
When she appeared for the re-examination on 5 May 2025, the invigilator handed her the question paper of ‘The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita-II (new)’ course instead of the paper she was supposed to attempt.
Left with no choice, Ruksana answered the wrong paper.
The university declared her result on 6 October 2025, marking her absent since she hadn’t attempted Law of Crimes-II paper.
What compounded her problem was that by the time her result was declared, the university had already notified and conducted the September 2025 re-exam on 1 September.
This meant she missed yet another chance to clear the paper, with the next opportunity only in May 2026.
The university opposed the petition, arguing it was bound by its rules, which stipulate that even semester examinations can only be conducted in May.
The university counsel also claimed both question papers were available with the invigilator, and two other students at the centre had correctly attempted Law of Crimes-II (old).
The university further contended that since the student knew she had attempted the wrong paper, she should have applied for the September examination meant for those who missed papers due to exam clashes or medical reasons.
Justice Tiwari dismissed these arguments. “Once the Panjab University decided to conduct a combined examination for students of the old and new courses, the invigilator was required to exercise due diligence while distributing the question papers,” the court said.
The judge noted there should have been a mechanism to rectify errors during the examination, but no such corrective exercise was undertaken.
On the university’s reliance on its rules, the court held that while the regulation is meant to regulate examination schedules, it cannot be construed as a bar against rectification of the university’s own mistake, especially when a student’s academic career is at stake.
“The academic future of a student deserves precedence over the administrative inconvenience of the Panjab University,” Justice Tiwari observed.
The court directed the university to conduct a special examination of Law of Crimes-II (old) for the petitioner.
The petitioner was represented by advocate Talim Hussain, while advocate Akshay Kumar Goel appeared for the university.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)