The court was hearing the petition filed by around 36 students who had benefitted from the University's decision to grant them eight grace marks in the Preventive and Social Medicine papers and moved the court on Thursday against the Chancellor's order to withdraw the grace marks.

Appearing before the division bench of Justices Ashok Agarwal and D K Deshmukh today, Sawant sought time to file the affidavit since the Governor received a copy of the students' petition only on Thursday night. He stated that the Governor would file his affidavit by April 26, the next date of hearing.

Meanwhile, the petitioners' counsel Prasad Dani requested the court to keep the matter for an earlier date as the last date of filling theexamination form is April 21 and the examinations are scheduled for May 6. Justice Deshmukh told Dani that the petitioners can go ahead and fill the forms because if they win the case there will be no question of examinations and if they do not, they can appear for the MBBS examinations on May 6, 1999.

The petitioners led by Seema Pay have alleged that the powers of the Chancellor in this respect, under the Maharashtra Universities Act, 1994 were violative of the provisions of article (14) of the Constitution.

In their petitions, these students who have already been declared doctors due to the grace marks and are working as interns, have pleaded that they are being put through immense hardship due to the withdrawal of the marks. These students would have to sit for the same paper again on May 6.