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The court held that the repeal of IPC and implementation of BNS applies prospectively to students currently enrolled or taking up BNS in the future
The Karnataka High Court has ruled that law students who have previously attended classes on the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and failed their examinations cannot be expected to take supplementary examinations in Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), a subject they were never taught.
The ruling, delivered by Justice Suraj Govindaraj, quashed the Karnataka State Law University’s (KSLU) notification dated December 6, 2024, which mandated such exams. “Insofar as students who have already attended classes for IPC and have failed in the examination conducted for IPC, it cannot be expected that those students take up the examination for BNS which has never been taught to them in the course structure,” the court observed.
The case was initiated by the petitioners, Sachin R and Prathisitha Nagar, who sought the court's intervention against the KSLU notification that required them to take the BNS examination instead of IPC. Represented by Advocate Pavana Chandra Shetty H., the petitioners argued that having studied IPC in their curriculum, they had never received any classes or instructions in BNS. Consequently, the petitioners contended it was unreasonable to expect them to appear for an exam on a subject they were unfamiliar with.
On behalf of the university, Advocate Girish Kumar argued that following the repeal of IPC and the implementation of BNS as part of the legal curriculum, examinations on the repealed enactment could no longer be conducted.
Dismissing the university's argument, the court held that the notification was inapplicable to students who had already studied IPC under the previous curriculum. The court noted : “This is not the first petition that is coming before this Court. It is therefore required for the KSLU to look into this aspect and not insist on the students who have failed in IPC to take up the examination in BNS since they have never been provided with instructions in relation to that subject.”
The court allowed the writ petition, while directing the university to conduct IPC examinations for such students and refrain from insisting on BNS examinations for them. However, the court clarified that the observations did not apply to future students enrolled in courses teaching BNS.
Cause Title: Sachin R. And Other v Karnataka State Law University and Another [WP No. 34457 of 2024]
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