The Bombay High Court on Tuesday (August 11, 2026) ruled that the Supreme Court's one-time protection for law students applies to any semester-end examination missed during the 2025-2026 academic session, not just to final-year or final-semester exams.

A division bench of the Bombay High Court, comprising Justice Riyaz Chagla and Justice Farhan Dubash, delivered an order on a petition filed by students of the Indian Law Society (ILS) College, Pune. The court interpreted the scope of a Supreme Court judgment that provides one-time protection to law students who were prevented from appearing in their examinations.

The bench addressed a contention from ILS College. The college argued that the Supreme Court’s protection applies only to students in the final year or final semester of the three-year or five-year law course. The High Court did not accept this construction.

The judges referred to the text of the Supreme Court order. They noted that the order uses the expression “final examination.” The court stated that this expression must be read in the context of the discussion in the order, which refers to examinations for the “ongoing academic session.” The order repeatedly qualifies the examination by reference to “the said academic session” and refers to a supplementary examination “for this session only.”

The bench observed that the Supreme Court order does not use expressions such as “final-year students,” “final semester,” “final year examination,” or “examination for completion of the law course.” The court stated that accepting the college’s interpretation would require introducing limitations that the Supreme Court has not incorporated in its operative direction.

The High Court clarified the distinction between the expressions. The term “final examination,” in the context of the order, describes the examination that concludes the concerned academic session. It does not describe the terminal year or terminal semester of a student’s entire law course.

The court also addressed the confusion that arose from the Supreme Court’s judgment. The judges noted that the Supreme Court did not accept the contention raised by ILS College regarding the restriction of protection to final-year or final-semester students. The High Court stated that the protection applies to students missing any of the semester-end exams during the academic year 2025-2026.

The court’s order makes a distinction regarding the applicability of the Supreme Court judgment. The order states that the judgment is not applicable to students who are not appearing in the final year or final semester of the three-year or five-year law course. However, the court’s interpretation of the “final examination” clause expands the protection to other semester examinations within the academic session.

The court’s order provides a reading of the Supreme Court’s directive, establishing that the one-time protection covers students who missed any semester-end examination during the specified academic year. The bench refused to limit the protection to only those in their final year of studies.

Published - August 13, 2026 10:23 am IST