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2015 Supreme(Pat) 544
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
AJAY KUMAR TRIPATHI, J.
Abdul Majid & Ors. Petitioners
Versus
State of Bihar & Ors. – Respondents
Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No. 5217, 21873 & 21945 of 2014 and Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No. 386, 2650, 1231, 615, 4805, 3241, 4043 & 5432 of 2015
Decided On : 06-05-2015
Advocate Appeared:
(In CWJC No. 2650 of 2015)
For the Petitioners: Mr. Dr. Abdus Shakoor
For the Respondents: Mr. GP32- Harish Kumar
(In CWJC No. 386 of 2015)
For the Petitioners: Mr. Shailesh Kumar
For the Respondents: Mrs. Namrata Mishra, GA 13
For N C T E : Mr. S N Pathak
(In CWJC No. 5217 of 2014)
For the Petitioners: Mr. Binod Kumar
For the Respondents: Mrs. Binita Singh
For N C T E : Mr. S N Pathak
(In CWJC No. 21873 of 2014)
For the Petitioners: Mr. Mohammed Abu Haidar, Mr. Md. Abu Sajan
For the Respondents: Mr. GP1- U.S.S. Singh
For N C T E : Mr. S N Pathak
(In CWJC No. 1231 of 2015)
For the Petitioners: Mr. Sandeep Patil
For the Respondents:Mr. Lalit Kishore, Sr. Advocate, Mr. Purnendu Singh
For N C T E : Mr. S N Pathak
(In CWJC No. 615 of 2015)
For the Petitioners: Mr. Navjot Yeshu
For the Respondents: Ms. Ratna Kumari, AC to SC13
For B.S.E.B. : Mrs. Namrata Mishra
For N C T E : Mr. S N Pathak
(In CWJC No. 4805 of 2015)
For the Petitioners: Mr. Birendra Nath Mishra
For the Respondents: Mr. GP4- Uma Shankar
For N C T E : Mr. S N Pathak
(In CWJC No. 21945 of 2014)
For the Petitioners: Mr. Aditya Narain Singh, Mr. Kundan Kumar Sinha
For the Respondents: Mr. AAG11- Ashok Kr. Kesari
For the B.S.E.B :Mr. Lalit Kishore, Sr. Advocate, Mr. Purnendu Singh
For N C T E : Mr. S N Pathak
(In CWJC No. 3241 of 2015)
For the Petitioners: Mr. Sachchida Nand Lal Karan, Mr. Alok, Mr. Jitendra Kumar Rai
For the Respondents: Ms. Ratna Kumari, AC to SC13
For N C T E : Mr. S N Pathak
(In CWJC No. 4043 of 2015)
For the Petitioners: Mr. Diwakar Prasad Singh
For the Respondents: Mr. GA 6
(In CWJC No. 5432 of 2015)
For the Petitioners: Mr. Rajeev Ranjan No. II
For the Respondents: Mr. GP16- Rajesh Singh
The main legal point established in the judgment is the importance of fair evaluation and the potential bias created by awarding grace marks across the board, as highlighted by Rule 11(Kha) of the Bihar Panchayat Primary Teachers Rules, 2012.
Headnote:
Bihar School Examination Board - Teachers Eligibility Test - RTE 2009, Bihar Panchayat Primary Teachers (Employment and Service Conditions) Rules, 2012 - 11(Kha) - The court addressed the issue of multiple result publications, awarding of grace marks, and the impact on the merit list. It emphasized the significance of the TET examination and the weightage it carries, citing Rule 11(Kha) to highlight the importance of fair evaluation and the potential bias created by awarding marks across the board.
Fact of the Case:
The Bihar School Examination Board conducted the Teachers Eligibility Test (TET) for Urdu and Bangla teachers. After multiple result publications and objections, the court addressed the awarding of grace marks and its impact on the merit list.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the awarding of grace marks across the board created bias and imbalance in the merit list, impacting the weightage given to candidates' performance in the TET examination.
Issues: The issues included the fairness of the examination process, the impact of grace marks on the merit list, and the significance of the TET examination as per the RTE 2009 and Bihar Panchayat Primary Teachers Rules, 2012.
Ratio Decidendi: The court decided that the best approach would be to delete the wrong questions and evaluate the answers based on the remaining correct questions to ensure a fair and uniform evaluation of all candidates.
Final Decision: The court directed the Examination Board to conduct a fresh evaluation by deleting the wrong questions and declared that the earlier results would be annulled. It refused the relief sought by candidates based on the earlier result and emphasized the need for fairness in the examination process.
After the publication of the result by Bihar School Examination Board of Bihar Primary Urdu & Bangla (Special) Teachers Eligibility Test (hereinafter referred to as the eligibility test), a bagful of writ applications came to be filed seeking diverse kind of directions and relief from the Court. Some wanted the result to be quashed, some others wanted grant of grace marks across the board to each and every candidate and some others wanted a direction to appoint the qualified candidates on the basis of the result so published. On the surface such diverse kind of prayer and relief looks irreconcilable. Counsels appearing in these writ applications, therefore, have adverse and conflicting submissions to make.
2. It is important therefore to state the backgrounds under which these litigations have arisen.
3. After the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE) 2009 was notified, the National Council for Teachers Education issued guidelines for conducting Teachers Eligibility Test and made it mandatory. In furtherance to the guidelines and also to ensure implementation thereof, the Department of Education, Government of Bihar, notified a set of rules on 3.4.2012. The rule in question is known as Bihar Panchayat Primary Teachers (Employment and Service Conditions) Rules, 2012. This rule also made passing of TET Examination by all candidates, who wanted to be appointed as teachers mandatory.
4. In view of the above statutory requirements, Bihar School Examination Board was given the responsibility of conducting the TET Examination for Urdu and Bangla teachers and an advertisement was issued in terms of Annexure-1. Large number of candidates running into tens of thousands responded. The examination was held on 1.10.2013. After the examination got over, many a candidates raised objections about the correctness of either the question or the answer provided by the Examination Board. In fact, to be fair to Bihar School Examination Board, they made the question paper and the model answer available on the Website and the objections were invited by 21.10.2013.
5. About 350 objections were received by the Board till 21.10.2013, which led to appointment of Subject Experts. The decision to appoint the Subject Experts is corroborated by the notification dated 14.11.2013, which is Annexure-B to the counter affidavit of Bihar School Examination Board.
6. The Subject Experts submitted their report and opined that there were two defective questions in Paper-I and three defective questions in Paper-II, which needed to be addressed. The Examination Board considered the report of the said experts and the Board in its meeting dated 20.11.2013 decided to delete two questions of Paper-I and three questions of Paper-II. The Computer Centre was given a direction for preparation and publication of results of the candidates by marking only 148 questions for Paper-I and 147 questions for Paper-II. In other words, evaluation was done with the reduced number of questions. This result came to be published on 29.11.2013.
7. The result was uploaded on the Website of the Examination Board along with OMR and Answer Sheets of the candidates.
8. It is said that the Board received several complaints again by candidates of Urdu subject claiming that some questions are either defective or confusing. The matter was this time taken up at the level of the Education Department on 11.2.2014 and on the basis of yet another set of Subject Experts, a kind of consensus with regard to 10 questions of Urdu language of Paper-II were said to be wrong or confusing. The questions numbers are 99, 100, 101, 110, 112, 113, 115, 125, 129 and 145. This time a decision was taken not to delete the questions but to award one marks each against 10 defective or so-called confusing questions in the said examination. The Court was also informed that initially marks was awarded and confined to the candidates who had attempted those questions and not the rest. This, obviously, le
