Hyderabad: Even as resentment grows over discrepancies in CBSE Class 12 results and the conduct of NEET, Osmania University’s law exams have landed in controversy, with students alleging glaring irregularities in the evaluation process.Students of three-year and five-year LLB courses claimed that scores changed significantly after reevaluation in close to 1,000 answer scripts. In fact, some 200 students who had reportedly failed or just made pass grade were given A or B grades (70 to 90 marks out of 100) after reevaluation. Backed by the All India Lawyers’ Union (AILU) and the Law Students Federation of India (LSFI), they have demanded an inquiry into the process.Several affected students told TOI that such drastic variations raised serious concerns about the reliability of the original assessment. They questioned how answer scripts initially deemed insufficient to secure a pass grade could later fetch top grades without any change in content.“I have never failed an exam in my life. So, it came as a shock when I received an F in two subjects in the fifth semester. I applied for reevaluation, and I was later awarded A and B grades in constitutional law and criminal law,” said a third-year law student from the city.The student alleged that the university either acted negligently or deliberately failed students to earn revenue through reevaluation and supplementary examination fees.“How is this possible otherwise? How come my answer scripts, which earlier failed to secure even pass grade, are now awarded high grades?” the 21-year-old asked.Another student, whose grade changed from F to B after reevaluation, echoed similar concerns.“I failed in labour law despite being confident about my performance. After applying for reevaluation, I secured a B,” he said.He added that he had also paid supplementary examination fees because the deadline for applying fell before the reevaluation results were announced.Members of LSFI and AILU alleged that the issue had affected thousands of law students. They accused the authorities of forcing students to pay revaluation and supplementary examination fees (Rs 750 and Rs 1,100 per paper respectively) to obtain fair marks.“We submitted a representation after meeting students at various law colleges in the city and noticed that many bright students had failed. In a few colleges, 40 to 50 students in one class failed,” said B Chandrakanth from LSFI.He added that hundreds of students saw significant changes in their marks after reevaluation.Echoing Chandrakanth’s concerns, Ali Hyder of AILU alleged that the varsity was trying to downplay the issue.“It is affecting the lives of thousands of students. At the very least, the university must ensure that such mistakes are not repeated in the future,” he said.Varsity orders review, warns of action against evaluatorsOsmania University on Thursday said stringent action would be initiated against evaluators if negligence or deviation from prescribed procedures was established in the assessment process.Registrar G Naresh Reddy said that following allegations that a significant number of law students passed after reevaluation, the university had sought an explanation from the examination branch.The controller of examinations said that of the 5,831 students whose results were declared, around 14% had applied for reevaluation. Following the process, about 300 students — involving over 900 answer scripts — across the university received revisions in their marks or grades. The controller clarified that these revisions were not confined to the law programme and were spread across various courses and disciplines.
