Archive · 13 Sep 2026
Surendranath Law College Vice-Principal Disputes Resignation, Attendance Records
Students at Surendranath Law College protested rules about attendance for exams.
The college had said students needed enough attendance to take their exams.
Vice-principal Mohammad Tarannum said students surrounded her office for about 23 hours.
She said they forced her to write and send a resignation letter.
She also said she was denied water, electricity and food during the protest.
Tarannum now says she did not truly resign and plans to meet the education minister.
She says the college has used an online system to record attendance since July.
Students and governing council president Koustav Bagchi disputed her account and questioned how attendance was recorded.
The attendance requirement was reported differently as 75%, 65% and later 40%.
Mohammad Tarannum said students forced her to sign and send a resignation letter during a 23-hour gherao on September 10-11.
Tarannum denied resigning and said the college introduced an online attendance-recording system in July.
She said law colleges must enforce minimum attendance, citing 65%, while an earlier notice stated 75%.
Students said the threshold was later reduced to 40% and that about 600 of nearly 900 students could be affected.
Governing council president Koustav Bagchi maintained that the college lacked an attendance-recording provision and said the education department would decide Tarannum’s future.
- Who
- Vice-principal Mohammad Tarannum, protesting students, and governing council president Koustav Bagchi, a BJP MLA.
- What
- A dispute over attendance requirements led to a student gherao and Tarannum’s claimed forced resignation, which she now disputes.
- When
- The gherao lasted about 23 hours from September 10 to 11; Tarannum said she would meet the education minister on Monday, September 14.
- Where
- Surendranath Law College in Sealdah, Kolkata.
- Why
- Students opposed attendance requirements that they said could prevent many from taking semester exams, while Tarannum defended attendance enforcement and record-keeping.
Tarannum’s account
Students’ and Bagchi’s account
Whether she resigned
Tarannum’s account
Tarannum said students forced her to sign a resignation letter and send related communications, but maintained that she had not truly resigned and intended to resume her responsibilities.
Students’ and Bagchi’s account
The reported events described Tarannum as having resigned after students surrounded her office, while students’ protest centered on the attendance dispute.
Attendance records
Tarannum’s account
Tarannum said the college introduced an online attendance mechanism in July and called claims that no records existed baseless.
Students’ and Bagchi’s account
Bagchi and some students alleged that the college had no provision or effective mechanism for maintaining attendance records.
Attendance requirement
Tarannum’s account
Tarannum said law colleges were required to enforce a minimum attendance level and defended transparency and eligibility rules.
Students’ and Bagchi’s account
Students said the requirement was unclear and could exclude many classmates; they reported that the threshold changed from 75% to 40%. Bagchi called 75% logical but said students were being victimised and needed open dialogue.
- College
- Surendranath Law College
- Vice-principal
- Mohammad Tarannum
- Protest duration
- About 23 hours, from September 10 to 11
- Attendance figures reported
- 75% in the college notice, 65% cited by Tarannum, and 40% later reported by students
- Attendance system
- Tarannum said an online mechanism was introduced in July
- Students potentially affected
- About 600 of nearly 900 students
- Tarannum’s next step
- Meet the education minister at Bikash Bhavan on Monday
Sources
Surendranath Law College row: Vice-principal says she did not resign, denies attendance record lapses
‘Rather die than bow’: Surendranath Law College vice-principal claims ‘forced resignation’, vows to resume duty Monday
