MUMBAI, Sept. 11 -- The Bombay High Court on Tuesday strongly criticised Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) for issuing a circular that permits law students who fail their first year to be directly promoted to the third year, describing the move as "beyond logic and reason." A division bench comprising justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Ashwin Bhobe expressed serious concern over the circular, which was issued in 2025 under the signature of the university's deputy registrar. The directive allows students failing in the first year of law to be provisionally admitted to the third year, those failing the second year to the first semester of the fourth year, and similarly, third-year failures to the first semester of the fifth year. The court was hearing a petition filed by a first-year law student at SPPU, who sought relief under the contentious circular after failing his exams. Under the established academic framework, the "Allowed To Keep Terms" (ATKT) system allows students to progress to the next academic year only if they clear a specified number of subjects. Typically, a student must pass all first-year subjects, or at least clear enough to secure ATKT, before proceeding to the second year, and so on. The bench sharply questioned the rationale behind permitting a student who failed the first year to skip directly to the third year. "If such rules are being introduced by a university that carries the name of the great and revered social reformer and educationist Savitribai Phule, it will not serve the cause of academic excellence," the court remarked. In response, the High Court directed the university's vice chancellor to submit a personal affidavit detailing the circumstances and rationale behind the circular's issuance....