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Court Upholds Motherhood Over Deadlines
20 Jun
Summary
- A law student received permission to submit her dissertation after the deadline.
- The court cited exceptional circumstances of motherhood and childbirth.
- Academic rules must consider biological and social realities for women.
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has delivered a compassionate judgment, permitting a law student, R Sangeetha, to complete her LLM degree despite missing the dissertation submission deadline. Sangeetha, who enrolled in the 2019-20 academic year, faced challenges due to her pregnancy and the birth of her daughter on December 7, 2024.
Initially, the Tamil Nadu Dr Ambedkar Law University opposed her plea, citing the 'N+2' rule that mandates course completion within four years for 2019-20 admissions. However, Justice Hemant Chandangoudar directed the university and Madurai Government Law College to accept her dissertation and allow her to proceed with the viva voce examination.
The court asserted that academic regulations should not disregard exceptional circumstances, especially those arising from the biological and social realities of women students. It highlighted the UGC's policy encouraging maternity and child-care benefits.
Justice Chandangoudar stressed that motherhood should not impede educational pursuits, referencing principles of compassion and sensitivity. The court noted that denying Sangeetha the opportunity would render her previous academic efforts futile. This order, however, is based on the peculiar facts of this case and is not to be treated as a precedent.
