Mumbai: In what is believed to be the first instance of the Mumbai University penalising an autonomous college for allegedly inflating students’ marks, it has imposed a fine of Rs 2 lakh on SM Shetty College in Powai. The decision against the college for not complying with rules for moderating scores was taken in the management council meeting held this week.The action has raised concerns about the integrity of the college’s evaluation methods. The issue came to light last year when two teachers allegedly refused to sign a document revising the marks of second-year B Com students to help them pass.Earlier this year, in a related move, the university decided to conduct an audit of the examination processes at all autonomous colleges and introduced additional compliance requirements for approving new courses. The decision came after increasing concerns over governance and assessment practices in autonomous institutions came to the fore.In the SM Shetty case, the two teachers, Vijay Vishwakarma and Virendra Kumar Singh, who have been in service at the college for some years, were allegedly asked to change marks of students from 25, 26, 27 and so on to 40, which is the minimum required to clear the exams.In a legal notice to the university, the teachers mentioned that marks of over 35 students were changed in this fashion. They refused to sign after the marks were tampered, it added. Later, one of the teachers agreed to sign under pressure, but took a photograph of the altered marks. This happened in April 2025. The notice mentioned that the college had set a target for the number of students to be promoted to the next academic year, irrespective of their performance. TOI has a copy of the notice.After filing a complaint with the university in May last year, the teachers even moved the Bombay High Court in Feb this year seeking action against college authorities for ‘indulging in fabrication of marks to promote failing students and forging students’ marksheets’. The petitioners also sought withdrawal of the college’s autonomous status for not following university examination rules regulations. They also asked for the university’s inquiry report. The matter is pending in court.A university source confirmed the imposition of fine by the management council, adding that further action against the college will be discussed in the next meeting. When TOI reached out to the college authorities, they said that they have not received any communication from the university, but did not comment on the allegation.
