JUDGMENT

1. This matter has been taken up for hearing on-line because of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

2. An issue, which otherwise appeared to be plain, simple and uncomplicated has unfolded the way in which the private institutions in the State of Bihar are running and imparting education from Class 9 to 12 without any affiliation from any competent Examination Body.

3. The petitioners claimed before this Court that they had passed annual secondary examination held by the Bihar School Examination Board (hereinafter referred to as 'the Board') in the year 2009 as a regular student of J.P.T. High School, Dahibhatta, Gopalganj.

4. After having passed the matriculation examination, petitioner No. 1 pursued his intermediate course and on successful completion of the said course, he took up B.A. course from a college under Jai Prakash University, Chapra in the year 2014. While pursuing his B.A. course, the petitioner No. 1 required his original matriculation certificate for which he moved the Board through proper channel, whereupon he was informed that the original certificate had not been prepared because of some technical glitch. Subsequently, he came to be selected for appointment as Constable in Home-guard, for which he required original certificate of having passed matriculation examination.

5. Petitioner No. 2, on the other hand, pursued a certificate course of Welder. After obtaining the certificate in 2013, he took up self-employment. He also required original matriculation certificate for getting a passport. He approached the Board for issuance of original matriculation certificate.

6. Subsequently, the petitioners learnt that their results had been withheld for the reason that the examination fee for the matriculation examination held in the year 2009 was not paid. More than 11 years after publication of the result of matriculation examination of these petitioners, the Board issued a letter dated 15.04.2019 addressed to the Principal of J.P.T. High School, Dahibhatta, Gopalganj, mentioning therein that because of non-submission of examination fee of 103 students of the school at the rate of Rs. 1185 per student, the result and registration of all such examinees have been cancelled. The school was directed to inform the examinees in this regard.

7. Being aggrieved with the said communication, the petitioners approached this Court seeking quashing of the said letter dated 15.04.2019, which, according to them, was a result of certain dispute of accounting between the Board (respondents No. 4 to 6) and the School concerned (Respondents No. 7 and 8). The fact of cancellation of result of matriculation examination more than 10 years after its publication that too on the ground that examination fees were not deposited with the Board, shocked the Court's conscience.

8. At the first blush, when the matter was taken up on 176.03.2021, the Court presumed the school from where the petitioners had studied to be privately managed, in the background of the nature of controversy, i.e., non-submission of examination fee by way of misappropriation by the school management. It was in that background, following order was passed on 30.09.2020 : -

"It is the petitioners' case that they passed matriculation examination in 2009 held by the Bihar School Examination Board. They are aggrieved by a recent decision of the Bihar School Examination Board, whereby, their results have been cancelled on the ground that at the time of submission of the examination forms, examination fees were not sent by the School, viz, Jai Ram Prasad Tiwari High School, Dahibhatta, Gopalganj, which is a privately managed school, where the petitioners had pursued their course.

Mr. Pandey, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioners has submitted with reference to the statement made in the writ application that the petitioners had submitted the examination fees in the school and the cancellation of their results ten (10) years after publication on the ground that the S