Exam results will be declared soon: Maha varsities tell HC

In an affidavit, the University of Mumbai said that the strike by teachers was already over and assessment work of examinations was in progress.

Similar affidavits were filed by other Universities.

The state government too filed an affidavit saying that it had asked all the Universities to recruit teachers and fill up the vacant posts.

The Universities had also been advised to speed up the assessment work of answer papers of various examinations conducted by them, the affidavit said.

A vacation bench of Justices R Y Ganoo and N M Jamdar was hearing a petition filed by Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the students wing of Bharatiya Janata Party, seeking professors to work for extra hours for assessment of answer sheets of Third Year Bcom students.

The ABVP had initially moved the court challenging the decision of the association of teachers to go on strike. The strike, however, was called off on May 19.

In its petition, the ABVP said that the strike has adversely affected several students who have been left in the lurch as their results have not yet been declared.

On last occasion, the court had observed that the assessment of answer sheets was not a clerical work and required concentration. The Court had also refused to direct the Mumbai University to make its professors work for extra hours to assess the answer sheets of B.Com students.

"If professors are asked to check answer papers for additional hours, injustice will be caused to students. It is not mechanical or clerical work and requires concentration."

The court held that the delay in declaring the results was a genuine problem but it was something which should be handled by the University.