Ankita Meena v. University of Delhi
Background
The petitioner, an LLB student at Delhi University, was detained from appearing in her 4th Semester examination for falling short of attendance: partly because she had given birth to a child shortly before and partly due to a teachers' strike that disrupted classes. Her writ petition and intra-court appeal before the Delhi High Court were both dismissed, so she approached the Supreme Court. Over successive interim orders between 2018 and 2020, the Court allowed her to keep attending classes and writing later-semester exams "at her own risk," with results to be declared subject to the outcome of this petition.
Decision Breakdown
By the time the matter was finally taken up, the petitioner had already completed the entire course and most of her semester results, except the 5th Semester Supplementary Examination, had already been declared pursuant to the Court's earlier interim directions. The Court held that the original dispute over the 4th Semester detention no longer survived for active adjudication and had become only of "academic interest." It therefore disposed of both the interlocutory application and the SLP by directing the University to declare her pending 5th Semester Supplementary results and issue her provisional degree and certificates, subject to completing other formalities.
Lesson Learnt
Courts will not continue to adjudicate a legal dispute on its original merits once intervening events (here, completion of the course under interim protection) have made the underlying grievance moot: the practical remedy that actually helps the person is what the Court will order instead.