The Supreme Court on Thursday (November 5) declined to interfere with a Kerala High Court order that barred 16 suspended Students' Federation of India (SFI) activists of Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Kalady, from writing their semester examinations, The Hindu reported.
Instead, a three-judge bench headed by the Chief Justice of India sent the dispute back to the High Court's single bench for quick disposal, and recorded the university's undertaking to hold a special examination if the students win, Onmanorama reported.
How it got here
The students were suspended over protests at the university. A single bench of the High Court had allowed them to pay exam fees and appear for the exams, but a division bench set that order aside. The exams began on Wednesday, and 10 undergraduate and postgraduate students missed their first paper, Onmanorama reported.
The students' lawyer, KR Subhash Chandran, said the university had sought more time to file its reply before the single bench on October 13, 15 and 23. "Our main request before the apex court was that students must not lose an entire academic year simply for engaging in a democratic agitation," he said.
The protest
The indefinite relay fast by the suspended students entered its fourth day on Thursday. They said it would continue until the authorities revoked the disciplinary action unconditionally. The university had filed a caveat asking the Supreme Court not to pass any order without hearing it.
What next
The single bench will now hear the students' challenge to their suspension and to the exam bar. If they win, the university has undertaken to hold a special exam, so they need not lose the academic year.