The Madras High Court has directed the Anna University and the Director of Technical Education to allow a student, who had absented herself for two years due to illness, to continue her studies in the third year of an engineering course and permit her to write the fifth semester exam to be held in January.
Justice M Dhandapani gave the direction while allowing a writ petition from the student R Nithya, recently.
According to the petitioner, the Anna University allotted her a seat in the Electronics and Communication Engineering at a private College at nearby Padur and she completed two years of the course. While so, she was afflicted with allergic rhinitis, which prevented her from attending classes for two years and the college forcefully issued a transfer certificate to her. She recovered from the ailment in 2020 and was admitted in July 2021 and thereafter was attending the college regularly.
However, even as per the mandate of Regulation 5.1, students from the Higher Secondary stream ought to complete the course within 14 semesters. Even if the petitioner is permitted to write the examination at present, she would only be in the ninth semester in the overall 14 semesters and, therefore, she is well within the Regulation prescribed by the University. Such being the case, rejecting the case of the petitioner for continuance and to write the examination is wholly unsustainable and the same is liable to be interfered with, the judge said and directed the University and the college to allow her to write the fifth semester exam within a week
