Ernakulam: Responding to the row over the mark list of a prominent student leader who didn't take the exam, Maharaja's College principal Dr Joy V S blamed it on a technical error. 

Dr Joy's defence came on Wednesday a day after Students' Federation of India leader PM Arsho claimed that he didn't even sit for the exam.

Arsho was a student of MA Archaeology. 

Though Arsho didn't appear for any of the examinations in the third semester of MA Archaeology, he was declared passed as shown in the mark list. 

Giving an explanation before the media, the college principal claimed that a glitch in the software of the National Informatics Centre (NIC) often led to such wrong results. He noted that students often cite such mistakes in the mark list published on the website and report to the college authority. A final grade list will be issued only after rectifying such mistakes, he added.

On Wednesday, Arsho claimed that he didn't register for the third-semester examination as he belonged to the senior batch. Rubbishing this statement, the college principal noted that he had registered for the semester examination after being barred from the 2020 batch due to poor attendance. 

The college authority also produced evidence that proves Arsho had registered for the exam. The principal also clarified that Arsho didn't appear for the exam even after registering for it. 

“Arsho was jailed over a case when the third-semester class commenced. So, he took admission to the next batch on December 15, 2022, and registered for the exam. At present he is a student of the 2021-22 batch,” said the principal.

 KSU activists had earlier staged a protest in front of the principal's office demanding clarity on the issue.

The college has withdrawn the results following the controversy.