Judgment

HIDAYATULLAH, C.J.I. :- This is an appeal against the judgment and order of the High Court of Patna, December 8, 1969 in Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No. 1040 of 1969. It is brought to this Court by special leave. The appellant is the Bihar School Examination Board through its Chairman. The respondents are 36 students of S. S. H. E. School, Jagdishpur and H. E. School Malur, District Shahbad. They had moved the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution against the order of the Board canceling annual Secondary School Examination of 1969 in relation to Hanswadih centre in Shahbad District. They had also asked that a mandamus be issued to the Board to publish the results of the students who appeared at this centre. The High Court has quashed the order of cancellation and directed the Board to publish the results.

2. Candidates at the Secondary School Examination held in March, 1969 appeared at various centers including Hanswadih centre. The results were published in July 1969 but the results of examinees at Hanswadih centre were not released. On July 22, 1969 it was reported in a local Hindi daily newspaper that the results of this centre and others were under consideration. On August 30, 1969 a communiqué from the Board appeared in the newspaper Searchlight that the examinations of all subject held at the Secondary School Examination of 1969 at Hanswadhih centre were cancelled and the reason was that unfair means were practiced on a large scale at this centre. Examinees were, however, allowed to appear at the supplementary Secondary School Examination to be held in September, 1969.

3. The respondents challenged the order of the Board on many grounds. The main grounds were that there was no complaint of use of unfair means; that no opportunity had been given to the examinees to show cause before passing the order of cancellation against them; that as the Supplementary Examination was to be held within 10 days of the communiqué there was no time for the students to prepare for the examination; that the cancellation ought to have been announced before publishing the results of other centers and lastly that the order passed by the Chairman and not by the Board, was not a valid order under the Bihar School Examination Board Regulations.

4. From the record of the case and the return which has been filed by the Board the following facts appear:

5. The Tabulators of the Hanswadih centre reported that the percentage of successful examinees was as high as 80% whereas the average at the Arrah Dalippur centers was only 50%. They were therefore asked to prepare percentage subjectwise. All the Tabulators submitted these percentages. The matter was referred to the Unfair Means Committee of the Board. The Committee in its turn asked the Moderators to look into all the answer books where the percentage was 80% or more. They reported unfair means on a mass scale. The Chairman then passed and order on August 30, 1969 canceling the examination in all subjects at the Hanswadih Centre allowing the examinees to re-appear at the Supplementary Examination in September, 1969 without payment of fresh fees. The Head Masters of the three schools concerned were also informed by registered letters. The action of the Chairman was placed before the Board at its meeting on September 9, 1969 and was approved. It was stated in the return that a complaint was received from one Satnarain Singh of Jagdishpur, who, however, wrote a letter that he had made no such complaint.

6. The High Court gave a finding that the high percentages did give rise to a suspicion that unfair means were practiced and that the Board was justified in investigating the case. It was, however, held that the examinees were not given a chance to show cause and the materials on which the Chairman of the Board passed his order were not disclosed to the examinees. The Board had therefore failed to act according to the principles of natural justice and the order of the Chairman and/or the