Legal Question in Education Law in India

There are some complications of pseudo-corruption nature, that I wish to get legal advice on, if anyone would be kind enough to help me...

I am a student and as such am expected to submit a certain amount of term work per semester to pass the year irrespective of my grades.

I had to leave for a trip and therefore completed ALL my work in advance and submitted it to the concerned professors, since I missed the last week of my term. However, one professor was absent on the day I submitted the assignments, which was coincidentally the last day for the submission of that particular assignment as well as the day I left town.

Therefore I gave the assignment to a friend of mine with a Letter of Consent, mentioning that I confer upon him the necessary Fiduciary Capacity to submit the assignment, make amends or modifications as deemed fit by the concerned authorities for the period of my absence.

Upon my return, I was informed that not only was the Letter of Consent was refused, but also told by the Principal that I have no authority to confer any kind of Fiduciary Capacity upon anyone. My understanding of Fiduciary Capacity tells me that not only am I allowed to do that, but it becomes a necessity in this kind of a situation.

Further, when I informed about the fact that I had attempted to submit it within the time limit, but due to the absence of the professor, was unable to do so, I was told that it was my fault that I was absent for the subsequent week (in which the assignment /was/ accepted - however, I wasn't in possession of this knowledge at the time) and I was told off for accusing a professor for my mistake. I was told that it was my fault that I remained absent on the last week of the term, and that unless I had any medical reasons, I could not be excused. Note that I wasn't asking for the days I was absent to be counted as present. They are basically putting the blame on me for not being there for the last week, inspite of the fact that the last date for the submission was on the day I left.

The matter was referred to the Vice-Principal when my friend tried submitting it and he decided to hold the assignment until I came back (fully aware that I would lose my term, this way). This matter was outside any provisions laid by the Mumbai University and therefore it was his discretion whether to accept or reject the assignment.

Now, the institution doesn't get official letters often, and is therefore pissed off that any student would send something this 'legal sounding', which is frankly outrageous. But they are trying to make life very difficult for me.

So my questions are:

1. Do I have the right to confer Fiduciary Capacity upon my friend?

2. For the above case, who is likely to be blamed for the failed submission: The professor or me?

3. Can Vice-Principal as well as the Principal be accused for misusing their discretionary powers to cause harm to a student (with absolutely no reason to with-hold the assignment)?

4. What kind of governing bodies does a Graduate College (under Mumbai University) come under, to whom I may send my grievances and complaints regarding completely un-co-operative, rude, discouraging and hostile demeanor shown by college authorities? (With no apparent motive, except a personal grudge for being too 'legal sounding' - which can be proven)

5. Does any of the institutional heads/teachers/whatever have the right to insult me on personal grounds and pass comments on my character, such as "You're arrogant", "You don't know English" etc.?

6. This has also severely affected me mentally, causing me an undue amount of stress and health complications. Is there any disciplinary body where I can raise this issue?

7. If I wanted to use the RTI Act, 2005 to obtain information that could prove their lack of accountability, attempts to intimidate, hypocrisy, everything that throws light on their bad character, what information should I request for?

If any one is interested, I have more queries that are slightly more complicated that I would really appreciate some legal advice upon...Please feel free to contact me at: [email protected]

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