According to the students, the university issued a host of confusing ordinances last year -- regarding the permissible number of Allowed To Keep Term (ATKT) -- on the eve of their examinations. The number of ATKTs permitted to a student was changed by this rule. ``As a result of this, we couldn't concentrate on any one exam, as we had to appear for so many,'' said a student. Besides, students stated they were not informed about the fact that they did not have to compulsorily appear for the exams.

Several students went to court, demanding that the rules be waived for this year. At least one student got a favourable judgement, while others didn't. Since there is still no uniform rule on whether the students -- belonging to various semesters -- should be allowed to appear for the examinations, the students have been demanding that the university come out with a common rule.

Wednesday's demonstration was the second one organised with the help of the Bharatiya Vidyarti Sena (BVS). One was held earlier this month. Following this, the university has decided to hold a meeting of principals of all engineering colleges on January 16. Their decision will be conveyed to the students on January 19, according to Pro Vice-Chancellor Dr Naresh Chandra.

Students -- around 1,000 of who are said to be affected -- claimed that college authorities allowed them to attend classes, and work on their project, despite their having failed to clear their exams. However, they were later told that they could not get term grant. ``This means that our work will go waste. We are not asking to be allowed to appear for the exam. We will clear our backlog and only then appear for the exam,'' one student said.

However, the university officials contend that at least four colleges did not allow the students who failed to attend lectures and to work on their project. The final decision will be taken after considering the problems of these students too.