Just a week after law student Mandar Pande made a police complaint against Mumbai University for misplacing his answer-sheet and failing him, the varsity has now found his paper. MU had earlier awarded him just 2 marks, but the photocopy of his missing answer-sheet shows that he scored 49, comfortably passing the final exam.
mid-day had reported on Pande's plight and his fight for justice, after he submitted a complaint to the BKC police station, accusing the university of cheating. In august, when the results were declared, Pande was shocked to see that he had scored just 2 marks in Family Law. Pande then filed an application to see a photocopy of his answer-sheet, as well as re-evaluation of the paper.
In November, Pande got the photocopy, and was shocked to see that his main answer-sheet was missing, and only the supplement sheet had been evaluated. Meanwhile, fed up of waiting for MU to respond, Pande had also applied for re-examination, so he had to appear for the paper all over again.
On Friday, MU finally found his missing paper and provided him with a photocopy. However, he is still waiting for the re-evaluation results. "I have proof now to show how callous Mumbai University is. The final examination results are so important for students, and varsity is dealing with it so carelessly. It is because I decided to fight back that I got justice. But there are so many cases where students just cave in," said Pande.
He continued, "I now have to wait for the re-evaluation results, and hope that the varsity won't make more mistakes. But thankfully, I have the photocopy as proof against any further errors." Pande intends to demand a refund of the re-examination fee. "Why should I bear the cost when I had already passed?"