The Hon’ble bench comprising Hon’ble Justices AM Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari was hearing the arguments advances by senior advocate Vikas Singh. The content of the writ petition submitted to the court was the cancellation of the physical examinations in the ICSE and CBSE boards. The counsel noted that the students needed to have a definite answer and no more beating around the bush. The counsel, represented an intervenor who pleaded in support of the conduct of physical examinations. he presented some suggestions as to how should the marking system operate.
- There should be a uniform system of evaluation for all the boards
- The evaluation should be based on the performance of the current batch and not any other batch.
- The option to improvise the results should be available with the students
The Advocate has stated that the conduct of physical examinations is not only necessary but also possible at this juncture since the mortality rates of covid 19 patients are reducing slowly and surely. Moreover, the alternative marking methodology is extremely complex. Even some of the teachers find it difficult to understand. There are also possibilities of manipulation by schools that have not kept records of the marks secured by students in the lower classes.
Hon’ble Justice Khanwilkar marked that at the moment the students need a clear-cut answer and not uncertainty. CBSE and ICSE are two different boards and comparing them would be equal to comparing apples to oranges. However, the suggestions will be presented to both boards for consideration.
The Hon’ble bench was also hearing an intervention petition by 1152 students demanding the cancellation of the compartment exams for CBSE students.
This plea was a part of the PIL submitted by advocate Mamata Shankar requesting the cancellation of class 12 exams. Advocate Abhinav Chowdhury remarked that the examinations should be held when the situation is conducive. The students need to give the compartment papers because the mark sheet of class 12 is needed to appear for the counselling rounds of entrance exams like CLAT. He cited the famous case of Amit Bathla v CBSE. The court said that the students can appear for the written rounds of the entrance tests and by the time counselling begins, the results will be declared according to the decision of the court regarding the holding of exams. This decision was welcomed by the attorneys.
The Hon’ble court informed the Attorney General that there have been many writ petitions challenging the cancellation of the ICSE and CBSE board exams. There have also been pleas related to the exams of the boards which have not been listed. Such pleas will be heard tomorrow at 2 p.m. meanwhile, CBSE and ICSE boards are also free to submit their marking schemes or alternative measures. After taking a panoramic view of the entire scenario and all the options possible, the Hon’ble court will declare its judgement which will be for the utmost benefit of the students and their academic future.
