Monash University student Chinmay Naik loses Supreme Court appeal over failed assignment
First he failed his uni assignment on dogs, now this petulant student has got an F in court for trying to sue Monash University. But that might not be the end of his “hopeless” quest to overturn his dud score.
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A petulant journalism student who attempted to sue his university over a failed assignment about dogs has had his “futile” appeal rejected.
The Court of Appeal today ruled Chinmay Naik had “no arguable case” against Monash University and upheld the Supreme Court’s decision to throw the matter out last year.
Mr Naik took his fight to overturn his dismal mark to the state’s highest court in October where Justice Melinda Richards told him he should “move on”.
FAILED STUDENT APPEALS HIS REJECTED COURT BID
STUDENT WILLING TO RESUBMIT FAILED DOG ASSIGNMENT
But he chose not to heed this advice and challenged her decision in the Court of Appeal.
The 23-year-old received just 12 marks out of 100 for a video assignment about negative stereotypes surrounding different dog breeds, causing him to fail the entire subject.
In court documents, Mr Naik accused Justice Richards of siding with Monash University, of failing to acknowledge potential discrimination, his anxiety condition and his lack of legal representation.
The Court of Appeal ruled today “none of the proposed grounds were arguable”.
The judgment stated the international student was more than 10 months late in lodging proceedings in the Supreme Court — well outside the 60 day time limit to apply for a judicial review.
Mr Naik argued he should have been granted an extension of this time limit — but Justice Richards found there was no cause of special consideration.
The Court of Appeal agreed stating: “A proceeding that is hopeless and doomed to fail would rarely, if ever, attract an extension of time.
“The power to extend time is not to be exercised in the pursuit of a futile proceeding,” the judgment read.
The judgement also stated “merely reciting rubrics of legal errors” did nothing to further Mr Naik’s case.
Outside court Mr Naik told the Herald Sun he was “a patient person” but would not say whether he would continue to pursue civil action against the university.
“I respect the judgement ... it’s their call,” Mr Naik said.
“I won’t be disclosing what I choose to do next, it’s too early for that,” he told the paper.
A separate hearing before the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal had earlier been put on hold until the appeal was finalised.
Mr Naik, who represented himself in court, was ordered to pay the legal costs of Monash University.
He previously tried to get the assignment result overturned by the Human Rights Commission and the Ombudsman but those bids were unsuccessful.