Judgment

FAIZAN UDDIN

( 1 ) ACCORDING to the appellants, the Central Board of Secondary Education introduced 10+2 scheme of education in the year 1977 providing general education up to the level of 10+2 class, visualising two distinct stages one up to class X and the other up to class XII so that the students with certain competence should alone pursue education beyond class X. The appellant, Cambridge School, New Delhi, with a view to achieve the aforesaid objective and to upgradge the academic standard of each student through special programme prescribed a cut off level of 50 percent marks for admission to class XI of the said school. Consequently, the principal-appellant addressed a circular dated 4-10-1993 to the parents of the students stating that the admission to class X would not be automatic but a cut off level was prescribed by the Cambridge School to the effect that a student of class X must obtain 50 percent marks in aggregate in the Board examination for being granted readmission in class XI. In other words it would be a fresh admission even for those students who passed class X from the Cambridge School itself obtaining minimum marks of 50 per cent in aggregate as qualifying percentage for being considered for readmission in class XI. A similar circular was again issued in February, 1994. As a consequence of the said circulars, after declaration of results of class X by the Central Board of Secondary Education and students who secured marks less than 50 per cent in aggregate were asked to obtain their school leaving certificates. It appears that the parents of such students who had secured marks less than 50 per cent in aggregate approached the Deputy Education Officer who by his letter dated 13-6-1994 directed that all students of class X should be admitted into class XI without any pass percentage. But the school authorities took the stand that no such direction could be issued by the Directorate of Education since the power to regulate admission under Delhi School Education Act, 1973 and Rule 145 of the Delhi School Education Rules vests in the head of the school.

( 2 ) IN the facts and circumstances aforementioned the respondent herein and three other students of the Cambridge School filed the Civil Writ Petition No. 2788/1994 in the High Court of Delhi challenging the legality and propriety of the circulars aforementioned prescribing cut off marks for admission to XI class in the said school. A batch of ten students had also filed a Civil Writ Petition No. 2977/1994 (Reema Goyal v. Lt. Governor of Delhi) challenging the validity of the said circulars prescribing the cut off marks for admission to class XI. In the meanwhile Civil Writ Petition No. 2977/1994 was withdrawn as the school authorities scaled down the aggregate of 50 per cent marks to 45 per cent and the students admitted in the school except one or two students who had secured about 35 per cent marks in aggregate but they also withdrew their petition with a view to either reappear in the examination to secure 50 per cent marks or would seek admission in some other school. In the writ petition filed by the respondent herein and three others, two students had secured 45 per cent marks and, therefore they also withdrew their petition and one student who had secured about 35 per cent marks also withdrew his petition with a view to either reappear in the examination or to seek admission elsewhere. The respondent herein, however, pursued the petition as she had secured 44. 6 per cent marks in aggregate and was not allowed to continue her studies in class XI in appellants school.

( 3 ) THE case of the respondent before the High Court was that the Principal and the school authorities were not justified to deny admission to its own students who had passed class XI examination which is a public examination and as neither the Act nor the Rules prescribe any cut off level of marks for promotion to XI class in the same school after passing class X examination an