Special Correspondent
Pune : The Bombay High Court has taken a firm stand against the continuation of the ‘Carry On’ scheme, a policy that allowed students with multiple backlogs to move into the next academic year. The court noted that such a policy does not promote quality or meaningful education. With this observation, the court has ordered that the scheme must not be implemented during the current academic year.
The state government has been directed to inform every university that is still using the scheme. The division bench of Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Ashwin Bhobe clarified that students who have already received the benefit of the scheme during the 2025 to 2026 academic year will have their results treated as provisional. Their results will remain subject to the final decision of the court. The court also made it clear that, as per the circular issued on 17 January 2025, no new student should be granted the benefit of the scheme from this point onward.
The court has asked all universities that wish to submit their statements to file their affidavits before 29 November. Copies must also be given to senior advocate Darius Khambata, who is assisting the court in the matter. The next hearing has been scheduled for 10 December.
The issue reached the court after an LLB student from Savitribai Phule Pune University submitted a petition seeking provisional admission to the third year. He had failed all eight subjects of his first year. After revaluation he cleared one subject and two more with grace marks, but he still remains failed in five subjects. His second year provisional admission had already been cancelled, yet he approached the court demanding entry into the third year. The bench had earlier expressed shock at such a request. During the hearings the state government informed the court that several universities were giving promotions under the ‘Carry On’ policy, which had raised concerns about its misuse.
Pune University clarified that the scheme was launched through a circular dated 17 January and an ordinance dated 10 February, and that it was applicable only for the 2024 to 2025 academic year. It was meant exclusively for engineering students. However, four universities continued the scheme in the 2025 to 2026 academic year and expanded it to all streams. These universities are the North Maharashtra University in Jalgaon, Solapur University, Amravati University, and Shivaji University in Kolhapur. The court expressed surprise that these institutions extended a policy beyond its intended scope and period.
The government affidavit stated that the scheme had been introduced due to letters written by elected representatives. The court took note of this but questioned the logic behind it. The bench observed that four years have passed since the Covid pandemic and students have already returned to regular examinations. It found no clear reason for reintroducing such a scheme in the 2024 to 2025 academic year.
The court also examined the impact of the policy on academic standards. It noted that Pune University allowed students with several first year failures to enter the third year, students with second year backlogs to enter the fourth year, and even students with third year failures to enter the fifth year. In contrast, Marathwada University has a strict policy that requires students to pass at least 75 percent of their subjects to progress to the next year. For example, a student must clear all first year subjects and 75 percent of second year subjects to qualify for third year admission.
The court remarked that such strict rules help preserve the quality of education. It warned that lenient schemes like ‘Carry On’ can only lead to a decline in standards.
