Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University

Examination Rules

1. EXAMINATION RULES FOR THE UNDERGRADUATE COURSE FIVE YEAR INTEGRATED-

B.A., LL.B. (HONS):

1.1 The Examination and Evaluation shall be entirely internal. In-house subject faculty shall evaluate the
subject under the supervision of the Examination Committee. The faculty member who offers the subject shall be
responsible in conducting the evaluation of any Test / Assignment / Group Discussion / Role Play or any other
method in consultation with the Examination Committee and approved by the Vice Chancellor. The End
Semester Examination question paper will be framed by the subject faculty and shall be moderated by a
Committee constituted by the Vice-Chancellor. The faculty shall evaluate the performance of the student on
regular basis. If a course is offered by more than one teacher, the setting of question paper and evaluation will be
done jointly.

1.2 Constitution of the Examination Committee:

The Examination Committee shall be constituted by the Vice Chancellor consisting of not less than three faculty
members of the University, which shall include a senior most faculty member. In the event of any vacancy
arising in the Examination Committee, the Vice Chancellor shall nominate another faculty member to fill in the
vacancy. The Examination Committee may co-opt a member with the approval of the Vice Chancellor in writing.

1.3 Attendance:
The Student have to obtain a minimum of 70% in Aggregate and 70% in each subject. Candidates who fulfill the
above only are eligible to appear for the End –Term Examination. No Exemption of this rule is provided for.

1.4 Internal Assessment

1.4.1 Every subject, prescribed in the curriculum of study shall, unless otherwise decided by the University,
have a component in the form of project assignment for 15 Marks. The Moot Court/class test/group
discussion/role play/group assignment, etc. shall be the other component carrying 10 marks in the subject. Under
this component the subject faculty may adopt any method of evaluation in consultation and information to the
Examination Committee in writing.

1.4.2 Students participating in the National Moot Court Competitions shall be exempted from submission of
project in one subject. Students participating in the International Moot Court Competition shall be exempted
from submission of Projects in two subjects. In place of Project(s) the participants shall submit moot court
memorials and shall attend the Viva-Voce prepared for a National/International Moot Court Competition
respectively. The memorial will be evaluated by such faculty member competent in the subject matter as the
Examination Committee may decide.

1.4.3 The exemption from the submission of projects will be given only in respect of law subjects.

1.4.4 Students having backlog shall not be eligible to participate in Moot Court or any other competitions.

1.5 Mid Semester Examination:

1.5.1 There shall be a Mid-Semester Written Examination for 25 marks out of the total marks allotted to a
subject.

1.5.2 The duration of the Mid Semester Examination shall be of one and half hour.
1.6 End Semester Examination:

1.6.1 There shall be a written examination at the end of each semester for each subject.

1.6.2 The End Semester Examination shall be conducted for each subject for maximum of 50 marks.

1.6.3 The duration of the End Semester Examination shall be two and half hour.

1.7 Break-up of maximum marks in each subject offered:

The following is the break up for evaluation:

Periodical Evaluation
shall consist of Project
submission and Viva-
Voce and any other (i) 15 Marks Project
method which can be Submission & Viva-Voce
adopted by the subject (ii) 10 Marks for Moot
faculty in consultation Court/ Class Test / Group
with the Examination Discussion / Role Play /
1. Committee. Group Assignment, Etc.
Mid Semester 25 Marks – one hour
2. Examination thirty minutes duration
End Semester 50 Marks – Two hours
3. Examination thirty minutes duration
TOTAL 100 MARKS

1.8 Non-Appearance in Examinations:

1.8.1 Mid Semester Examination:

1.8.1.1 If a student is unable to appear in the mid-term examinations for whatsoever reason other than
participation in the National/International Moot Court Competition etc.(duly approved by the University) he/she
shall be marked as Absent (Zero marks).

1.8.1.2 If a student is unable to appear in the Mid-Semester Examination due to participation in the University
team for National/International Moot Court Competitions etc, only then he/she will be evaluated proportionately
basing on the marks secured in the end-semester examination. Provided that the student’s application for not
appearing in the mid-semester examination will the recommendation of the Convener, Moot & Advocacy
Society (MAS).

1.8.1.3 If the student fails in End Term Main and Repeat Examinations and is unable to obtain a minimum of 20
marks or below 20 marks in their internals, they may be given an opportunity with appropriate reasons and with
due permission of the Vice- Chancellor, to appear for a Repeat Mid Term Examination with a payment of Fee of
Rs. 500/- per subject. The Repeat Mid Term Examination shall be conducted after End Term Main/Repeat
Examinations. The Repeat Mid Term Examination will be conducted for 25 marks. This opportunity can be
availed only once by the candidate.

1.8.2 End Semester Examination:

If a student is unable to appear in the End-Semester Examinations for whatsoever reason he/she shall be marked
as Absent (Zero marks).
1.8.3 Repeat End Semester Examination:
The Odd Semester Repeat Examinations will be conducted after the commencement of Even-Semester
(January) and the Even-semester Repeat Examinations will be conducted after the commencement of
the Odd Semester (July) with a payment of Rs.1000/- per subject. And if the student fails to attain Pass
Marks, he/she will have to appear in Repeat Examination with the Junior batch with a Fee payment of
Rs 2000/- Per subject.
If the student fails to attain Pass marks with the junior batch, he or she will Not be promoted to the
higher class as per the Promotion Scheme (Rule 2).
Any student who attains a Pass Marks in Any Repeat Examinations (including Mid-Term Repeat
Examinations) the Grade Sheet will indicate an ‘R’.
1.8.4 Periodical Evaluation:
1.8.4.1 Student failing to appear in Periodical Evaluation for whatsoever reason, except participation in Moot
Court or any other National or International Competition on behalf of/representing the University, he/she shall be
marked as Absent (Zero marks).

1.8.4.2 No separate test or viva-voce will be conducted or project be given in these cases. Provided that student
participating in any moot court competition shall be evaluated on the basis of the memorials. The students
participating in any National or International Competition on behalf of/representing the University during the
period when the periodical evaluation is conducted shall take prior permission of the concerned faculty and
appear for the same later. This shall not apply to project submission for whatsoever reason.

1.8.4.3 If the student fails to appear in the Class Test/Group Discussion/Group Assignments/Case study, he/she
shall be marked as Absent (Zero marks).

2. PROMOTION SCHEME:

2.1 DSNLU offers 10 subjects in a year except in the 1st two semesters where the students shall have 12 subjects
(from academic year 2014-15 & 2015-2016). From the Academic Year 2016 onwards 12 subjects will be offered
in a Year.

2.2 Promotion scheme for the student is based on the following criteria:
2.2.1 Student shall be promoted to the third year only after he/she clears all the subjects offered in the first year.

2.2.2 Student shall be promoted to the fourth year only after he/she clears all the subjects offered in the second
year.

2.2.3 Student shall be promoted to fifth year only after he/she clears all the subjects offered in the third year.

2.3 If a student fails to clear as per Rule (2.2), he/she shall not be promoted to the next year. He/she shall seek
re-admission to the same class after clearing the subjects as per Rule (2.2) on payment of the yearly fees
according to the fees structure prescribed for the year.

2.4 The facility of re-admission in respect of one academic year may be available to a student only once.

2.5 (a) “Re-admission” means – seeking admission into an academic year, afresh.
(b) “Re-registration” means registration for taking the examination in a subject again, when the student has not
taken the option of “Re-admission”.

2.6 Student who has failed shall Re-register for Repeat Backlog Examination. The Repeat Backlog Examination
in a subject shall be conducted only when the subject is next offered in the due course. The Examination
committee may lay down procedural rules in respect of all repeat examinations.

2.7 In the event of a student failing by marginal marks in a subject, the Vice-Chancellor shall have the discretion
to round it off to the minimum qualifying marks on the recommendation of the Examination Committee to
enable such student to obtain minimum marks for passing; Provided that the student has cleared all subjects
offered in that semester with minimum qualifying marks. The maximum marks to be rounded off may be up to
1% of marks in the particular semester.
2.8 In the final tally of marks or grade points for each subject or in the aggregate fractions of “0.5 or more” shall
be rounded off to the next whole number and fractions of less than “0.5” will be rounded off to the previous
whole number.

2.9 The syllabus for the repeat examination shall be the syllabus offered during the current semester in which
the student is appearing for the repeat examination and not the previous syllabus.

2.10 The Maximum period within which a student can complete the entire course shall be eight years.

3. GRADE, GRADE POINTS AND MARKS EQUIVALENTS :

3.1 The Results are announced through grades in a seven-point scale. The corresponding Grade values are as
follows up to 2015 batch:

Percentage of GRADE
S.No Marks GRADE VALUE
1. 80 and above O (Excellent/outstanding) 7
2. 75 – 79 D (Distinction) 6.5
3. 70 – 74 A++ 6
4. 65 – 69 A+ 5.5
5. 60 – 64 A 5
6. 55 – 59 B+ 4.5
7. 50 – 54 B 4
8. Below 50 F (Fail) 0

3.2 The Results are announced through grades in a Ten-point scale as per the UGC guidelines. The
corresponding Grade values are as follows from 2016 batch onwards:

Percentage of GRADE
S.No Marks GRADE VALUE
1. 80 and above O (Outstanding) 10
2. 75 – 79 A+ (Excellent) 9
3. 70 – 74 A (Very Good) 8
4. 65 – 69 B+ (Good) 7
5. 60 – 64 B (Above Average) 6
6. 55 – 59 C (Average) 5
7. 50 – 54 P (Pass) 4
8. Below 50 F (Fail) 0
9. Absent AB (Absent) 0

4. PUBLICATION OF RESULTS:
4.1 The Examination Results shall be duly published by the Examination Committee as announced in the
academic calendar.

4.2 The format and method of publication of result shall be determined by the Examination Committee from
time to time.

4.3 The examination results shall be signed by the Chief Examiner.

4.4 Student shall be provided with a statement of marks, which shall be issued after completion of each semester
and upon announcement of final results.

4.5 The Examination Committee reserves the right to make necessary corrections if required, in the results
declared, even after the declaration of results with the approval of the Vice Chancellor.

5. PROCESS OF EXAMINATION:

5.1 Each subject faculty shall devise a process of examination in her/his respective subject with the approval of
the Examination Committee.

5.2 Each subject faculty is responsible for the entire process of Examination of his / her subject.

5.3 The evaluation of examination papers shall be performed by the subject faculty who has offered the subject
for the semester.

5.4 In the event of a subject faculty having a family relation with a candidate for the examination, he / she shall
refrain from any examination work after informing the Examination Committee. The Vice Chancellor may on
the recommendations of the Examination Committee, appoint an examiner to that subject.

5.5 Each subject faculty shall adhere to the examination programme scheduled by the Examination Committee
and shall be responsible for the evaluation and declaration of results as announced in the academic calendar.

5.6 The scheme of Examination and evaluation shall be given to the Examination Committee in writing by each
subject faculty within fifteen days of commencement of the semester. Any subsequent changes in the scheme of
evaluation shall be made only with the prior approval of the Examination Committee.

6. DUTY OF THE INVIGILATOR:

6.1 It shall be the duty of each faculty member to invigilate the Examinations according to the schedule set by
the Examination Committee.
6.2 Invigilators shall report at the Examination Centre 15 minutes before the commencement of the examination.

6.3 Invigilators shall enter the Examination Hall 10 minutes before the commencement of the examination.

6.4 Invigilators shall be vigilant during examination and shall record instances of any mal-practice during
invigilation in the invigilation diary, bring them to the notice of the Examination Committee without delay, and
take appropriate actions in consultation with the Examination Committee.

6.5 Invigilators shall submit the duly filled-in Invigilator’s diary and the Answer scripts to the Examination
Committee immediately after the examination.

6.6 Invigilators shall initial with date the answer scripts only after verification of the relevant entries; and
additional scripts before issuing them to the candidates in the Examination Hall.
7. RULES FOR SETTING QUESTION PAPER:
7.1 Each subject faculty shall submit to the Examination Committee the question paper along with a Model
Answer on or before the date fixed by the Examination Committee. Once a question paper is set and filed with
the Examination Committee, it shall not be altered, save in special circumstances approved by the Chief
Examiner.

7.1.1 A Model/Key answers shall be submitted along with the question paper/at the time of collecting the
answer scripts by each subject faculty to the Examination Committee

7.2 So far as practicable, each question paper shall be designed to test the understanding of the students in the
relevant subject. It should, as far as practicable, be problem-oriented or of a nature that it requires application of
knowledge.

7.3 The subject faculty shall ensure that the question paper covers as far as possible all the topics from the
syllabus. The subject faculty to strictly follow the rigor sheet.

7.3.1 The End Semester Question paper shall consist of 40-60 or 30-70 percent of Questions; Pre-mid term and
Post mid term respectively. The End Term Examinations to cover the entire syllabus.

7.4 Each subject faculty shall submit a copy of the current syllabus of the subject being offered by him/her to the
Examination Committee.

8. MODERATION OF QUESTION PAPERS AND MODEL ANSWERS:

8.1 The Chief Examiner of the Examination Committee shall moderate the question papers submitted by the
subject faculty.

8.2 The Moderator shall ensure that the questions are from within the syllabus and framed in a manner
intelligible to the student.

8.3 The Moderator shall ensure that the question paper model conforms to the scheme of evaluation submitted
by the subject faculty at the beginning of the semester.

9. EVALUATION PROCESS:

9.1 The evaluation of all examinations shall be done by the subject faculty.

9.2 The pattern for the End-semester Examination shall be set by the Examination Committee.

9.2.1. The Evaluation shall be on the basis of the Model Answer submitted.

9.3 The subject faculty shall submit a duly filled evaluation sheet to the Examination Committee after
completing evaluation of the answer scripts.

9.4 The evaluation of the projects shall be devised by the individual subject faculty with information to the
Examination Committee.

9.5 The allocation of marks to each answer and totaling and re-totaling thereof shall be done by the subject
faculty with the approval of the Examination Committee.

10. RE-TOTALING OF MARKS:

The Examination Committee shall be responsible for entering of Marks in each of the subject for the purpose of
declaration of results and it shall only check the grand total of marks allotted given by the subject faculty.
11. AWARD OF GRADUATE DEGREE:
A student shall be eligible for award of Five year Integrated B.A. LL.B (Honours) Degree only when he / she
shall have successfully completed the number of subjects prescribed in the five year period of study by obtaining
a minimum of ‘B’/ ‘P’ Grade (As per Rule 3).

Provided that a student who has completed the semester or trimester under a Student Exchange Programme,
he/she shall submit a report to the Examination Committee immediately after completing the programme for
deciding the equivalency, providing the details of the subjects completed. The Vice Chancellor may constitute a
committee to decide on the equivalency of the subjects (As per Rule 17).

12. ACCESS TO ANSWER SCRIPTS/CORRECTION OF ERRORS IN PUBLISHED RESULTS:

12.1 Right to Access:

The students are given answer scripts for access without any payment and only arithmetical or technical
error found are corrected, the same are changed after due approval and changes (if any) in Results are
declared.
12.2 Revaluation:
The Revaluation may be provided in exceptional cases, after due review by the Vice Chancellor. The
same may be evaluated by an External Faculty, preferably by a faculty from any other National Law
School. The student has to apply for Revaluation with a Fee Payment of Rs. 1500/- Per Subject (To be
fixed from time to time).

12.3 The subject faculty shall provide access to answer scripts after publication of results of the mid-semester
examination as per the instructions specified by the Examination Committee from time to time.

12.4 The Examination Committee shall have suo-motu power to effect any corrections of clerical/computing
errors that may appear in the published results as well as in answer scripts.

13. RULES FOR EXAMINATION COMMITTEE: GENERAL RULES:

13.1 The Examination Committee shall be under the direct supervision of the Chief Examiner, reporting to the
Vice Chancellor.

13.2 The Examination Committee shall facilitate to conduct all Examinations, Evaluations, Publication of results
and Maintenance of records.

14. CONDUCT OF EXAMINATION:

14.1 The Examination Committee shall notify the schedule for the Examinations.

14.2 The Examination Committee shall communicate to the subject faculty the date for submission of the
question papers.

14.3 The Examination Committee shall allot registration numbers to the students, valid for the entire duration of
their study at the University.

14.4 The Examination Committee shall communicate the seating plan to the students.

14.5 All members of faculty and administration of the University have a duty to render all necessary assistance
to the Examination Committee for the conduct of all the Examinations.

14.6
a) No student shall be allowed into the Examination Hall 15 minutes after the commencement of the
examination.

b) No student shall be allowed to leave the examination hall before the expiry of one hour from the
commencement of the Examination.

c) No student shall be allowed to leave the examination hall during the last ten minutes after the warning bell.

14.7 No educational aids or materials, books or papers or any electronic gadgets are permitted into the
Examination halls.

14.8 Resorting to unfair means in examinations shall entail summary cancellation of candidature of the student
and shall be on the recommendations of the Examination Committee which may lead to debarring from the
semester examinations after inquiry by a Committee as the Vice-Chancellor may decide.
15. EVALUATION:

The Examination Committee may organize evaluation of the End-semester answer scripts, including fixing of
deadlines whenever required, and may fix the maximum number of scripts to be evaluated each day by each
subject faculty.

16. CREDIT ALLOCATION:

16.1 The Academic Council shall decide the number of subjects, their syllabi and the number of credits to be
assigned to each subject.

16.2 Subject to the discretion of the Academic Council, the credit of the Arts courses shall be at least three
credits and the law courses shall be at least of four credits each, other than the seminar papers.
Explanation: Number of credits corresponds to the number of contact hours each week that a subject must be
taught.

16.3 The University may decide to offer extra credit courses whenever possible on the basis of rules framed by
the Examination Committee for that purpose.

16.4 The University may also decide to offer non-credit compulsory /optional courses, as it may deem fit.

17. STUDENT EXCHANGE PROGRAMMES:

17.1 The University may decide to send students to other Universities for study on exchange basis or otherwise
and have the grades/credits transferred to DSNLU.

17.2 Grade transfer shall be affected only on the basis of equivalency/similarity of subjects/courses being
offered in another University, with those offered in this University in the relevant Semester. Transfer of grade
will be decided by the Committee referred as “Degree Equivalence Committee” of the University with the
approval of the Vice Chancellor.

17.3 The attendance obtained by a student in the University may ordinarily be transferred to this University for
the purpose of calculation of attendance.

17.4 The Examination Committee may recommend to the Academic Council on all other matters in relation to
the transfer of credits and subject/course equivalence as far as possible in terms of the principle of Periodical
Evaluation and End Semester Examination.

18. MATTERS NOT PROVIDED:

18.1 The Vice Chancellor, on the recommendation of the Examination Committee and in consultation with the
Committee consisting of Chief Examiner and two senior faculty members may make provisions for all matters
not provided in this rules. The Vice Chancellor may also like wise decide on special rules including deviations
from the existing rules to suit special situations. Provided he shall report them to the Academic Council in its
next meeting.

18.2 The Vice Chancellor may likewise take action in case of emergencies upon recommendation of the
Examination Committee and in consultation with Chief Examiner and two senior faculty members.

18.3 The University reserves the right to modify, change, amend or review the examination rules, as it may at
any time deem fit: provided that no changes shall apply retrospectively to the detriment of students. All changes
shall be duly notified.

18.4 Notwithstanding anything contained in these rules the Academic Council may, in special circumstances,
give appropriate dispensation on the merits of each case.

18.5 The rules shall always be subject to the UGC and Bar Council of India regulations and any other applicable
rules.