“Communal” angle in cow slaughter case study prompts probe into GGSIPU LLB Exam Paper

A question made part of a Law of Crimes paper for the third semester LL.B. exam of colleges affiliated to the Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU) has come under fire for projecting communal undertones in the context of cow slaughter..The controversial 5-mark question states:.“Ahmed, a Muslim kills a cow in a market in the presence of Rohit Tushar, Manav and Rahul, who are Hindus. Has Ahmed committed any offence?”.The incident came to light after a Supreme Court advocate tweeted out an image of the question paper earlier this week. He had also emailed the University calling for action against the same..“Here is a new normal, De-humanising an entire community, A Law College at Narela, NCR’s Third Semester Question Paper [sic]”, Advocate Bilal Anwar had tweeted..Tagging the CPJ College, Narela (affiliated to GGSIPU) in the tweet, Anwar had also queried, “Is this what you are making the young legal minds to feel normal about? categorically referring communities in your question papers? [sic]”.Of the law colleges affiliated to GGSIPU, it is reported that ten colleges received the question paper..The ensuing furore has culminated in Delhi Education Minister Manish Sisodia ordering a probe on how such a reprehensible question was included in the exam. As reported by the Indian Express, Sisodia wrote the following note to the Higher Education Secretary yesterday,.“It has been brought to my notice through media reports that a highly objectionable question was asked in the LLB third semester exam in the college, namely School Law at Narela, affiliated to GGSIPU. How could such a reprehensible question with a communal overtone be framed for an LLB exam? Secretary (Higher Education) to get the matter inquired into and status report be sent to the undersigned within five days.”.In addition to this, an internal probe has also been launched by the University..Prior to this, the question was retrospectively “deleted” on Monday. University Registrar Satnam Singh stated that the question will not be part of the exam evaluation. The Telegraph quotes him as saying,.“We regret this question. It is, of course, communal in nature. The question stands deleted and no marks will be given for it, irrespective of whether a student has attempted it. The controller of examinations will issue an advisory to the examiners so that such things don’t happen in future.”.However, others have opined that being a hypothetical question, it should not be viewed as controversial. Neeta Beri, Dean at the CPJ law college has been quoted as saying:.“I feel this is a hypothetical situation, and any situation can be presented before a court. We as students of law do not see it as controversial…Do these things not happen in society? Where Hindus and Muslims live together these things do arise in our society…. This is only a situation our students have to be educated about.“.The question paper controversy comes days after the discovery of cow carcasses in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh triggered violent mob clashes, resulting in the killing of a police officer and a student. The deceased police officer had been investigating another cow-related lynching case, the 2015 Dadri lynching case, where Mohammad Akhlaq was dragged out of his home by a mob and lynched on allegations that he had stored calf meat..The rampant incidents of mob violence related to cow slaughter had prompted the Supreme Court to endorse a separate anti-lynching law earlier this year.