University ordinances regarding the maximum period to complete a course are not rigid and can be relaxed in exceptional, unprecedented circumstances like the COVID-19 pandemic, especially when the University has already granted a partial extension for the same academic year.

Order

1. Petitioner is a student of B.Sc. Nursing course and was not permitted to appear in two papers of 4th year examination, due to non-completion of her four year course within a period of eight years in the light of Ordinance 299-V-10 of the University, hence, she preferred instant writ petition on 07.11.2022 with a prayer to permit her to appear in two due papers of 4th year of B.Sc. Nursing viz.

(i) Midwifery & Obstetrical Nursing; (ii) Management of Nursing Service & Education.

2. This Court vide interim order dated 09.11.2022 permitted the petitioner to appear in the two due papers provisionally. In pursuance thereof, petitioner was permitted to appear in the examination of two due papers and has been declared pass in the result dated 17.01.2023.

3. The issue crops up and survives in this writ petition is to grant a decree of B.Sc. Nursing four year course to petitioner or not, in the light of Ordinance 299-V-10 of the University, which reads as under:-

"O.299-V-10. Maximum number of attempts permitted for each paper will be 3 including the first attempt. Maximum period to complete the course successfully should not exceed 8 years."

4. Admitted and undisputed facts of the case are that petitioner got admission in the B.Sc. Nursing course in the year 2013 and has cleared Part I, Part II and Part III so also two papers of Part IV, and remaining two papers of Part IV viz. (i) Midwifery & Obstetrical Nursing; (ii) Management of Nursing Service & Education has also been cleared by petitioner as per result dated 17.01.2023. Admittedly, petitioner was permitted by the University to write the examination of Part IV of B.Sc. Nursing commencing in the Month of April 2022, but was not permitted to appear in the remand examination commencing in the Month of November, 2022, to clear the two due papers of Part IV, hence, this writ petition.

5. The contention of counsel for petitioner is that the provision of Ordinance is handmade procedure of law, which may be relaxed in case of petitioner, more particularly, considering the period of pandemic Covid-19 due to which the examination of Part IV of B.Sc. Nursing was not conducted by University in the year 2021. His submission is that the period of eight years as per Ordinance, beginning from year 2013, ends in the year 2021, but since in the year 2021, examination of Part IV B.Sc. Nursing was not conducted, hence, the University itself extended the period by one year i.e. upto next year i.e. 2022 and permitted the petitioner to appear in the examination commenced in the Month of April, 2022, but arbitrarily restrained her from appearing in the examination, commenced in the Month of November, 2022 itself.

6. Learned counsel for the petitioner has placed reliance upon the extension of limitation granted by the Hon'ble Supreme Court, considering the unprecedented situation of pandemic Covid-19 for the period from 15.03.2020 to 28.02.2022, as observed and held in In Re: Cognizance for Extension of Limitation [(2022) 3 SCC 117]

7. Learned counsel appearing on behalf of University, on the strength of Ordinance 299-V-10 , contends that the same is inflexible and once the petitioner could not complet