Prospective amendment to academic exemption rules validly limits carry-forward benefits and defeats any claim to perpetual exemption.

The rule-making authority under the governing Act could amend the academic exemption scheme, and the revised Regulation 41(2) validly limited the benefit to three consecutive terms. The amendment operated prospectively, so earlier chances already used before commencement were not counted, and the June 2012 term was excluded only for administrative transition. The petitioner could not claim a vested or perpetual right to continue the exemption under the earlier regime, because the amended text expressly confined the benefit and he had already exhausted it. The English-Hindi version discrepancy did not alter the result on the facts stated.

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Issues: Whether the amendment to Regulation 41(2), limiting exemption in a paper to three consecutive terms, applied to the petitioner and whether he had any enforceable right to unlimited carry-forward of the exemption.

Analysis: The regulation-making power under the governing Act was not challenged, so the authority had competence to amend the exemption scheme. The amendment was held to operate prospectively: chances already used before its commencement were not counted, and the June 2012 term was excluded only because of administrative transition. The amended text expressly limited the exemption to three consecutive terms, and the petitioner had already availed that benefit. The Court also held that the petitioner could not claim a perpetual exemption merely because it had existed under the earlier regime. The alleged discrepancy between the English and Hindi versions did not assist him, as he was not claiming entitlement on the basis of a three-year period.

Conclusion: The petitioner had no right to unlimited exemption, and the amended regulation validly applied to him.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the rule-making authority is competent to amend academic regulations, an exemption once granted does not create a vested right to indefinite continuation, and a valid amendment may limit that benefit prospectively in accordance with the revised regulation.

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