MUMBAI, June 20 -- In yet another serious systemic lapse, this time in the examination department, the University of Mumbai's (MU) law faculty failed several students, who later found that their detailed answers in their taxation law and Bharatiya Sakhshya Adhiniyam papers had not been assessed at all. After the results, announced nearly a month and a half after the exam, showed these unexpectedly low marks, the students requested photocopies of their answer sheets. They were shocked to find that responses worth nearly 50 out of 75 marks were marked as 'NA' (Not Assessed) during the online evaluation process. Altaf Detha, a student from a Chembur-based college, was among those who failed. "When I saw my result, I was taken aback," he said. "I come from a commerce background and have also done a Company Secretary course. Taxation law is my favourite subject, and I have always scored well in it during college exams." Following the disappointing result, Detha applied for a copy of his answer sheet and a re-evaluation. "Even though I had written detailed answers to all the questions covering 50 out of 75 marks, those questions were not checked," he said. "At the end of the answer sheet, the evaluator simply wrote 'NA' against more than half the questions." Another final-year student, who did not want to be named, faced a similar issue. His Bhartiya Sakhshya Adhiniyam (formerly the Indian Evidence Act) paper also had multiple answers left unchecked. "We have complained to the university administration but no concrete action has been taken yet," he said. "Our entire careers are at stake. I pursued law with the aim of beginning legal practice. But with the Bar Council exam around the corner, we won't be able to register or apply for further education because of these errors." Student organisations have stepped in, demanding urgent action. Advocate Sachin Pawar, a student activist, called the issue "extremely serious". "This is nothing short of playing with the future of students," he said. Senate member Pradeep Sawant has also taken the matter seriously and demanded strict action against the culprits. Pooja Roundale, director, Board of Examination and Evaluation, said "MU adopted the OSM (On-Screen Marking) computer-based answer sheet evaluation system from May 2017." She added that the law faculty had very few evaluators. "After reviewing the answer sheets of the students concerned, we found that it was on account of a human error, and action has been initiated against the evaluator," she said. "The university will make necessary improvements in the computer system to prevent such human errors."...