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High Court Of Calcutta
M. M. DUTT, C. K. BANERJEE
WEST BENGAL BOARD OF EXAMINATION FOR ADMISSION TO ENGINEERING, MEDICAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL DEGREE COLLEGES - Appellant
Versus
JITENDRA LAL BANERJEE - Respondent
F. M. A. T 988 Of 1983
Decided On : 08/17/1983
The Calcutta High Court, in the case of M. M. Dutt v. State of West Bengal, ruled on the legality and validity of the constitution of the West Bengal Board of Examination for admission to Engineering, Medical and Technological Degree Colleges (the Board) and its rules, as well as the allegations of unfairness and arbitrariness in the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) conducted by the Board. FACTS OF THE CASE: - The Board was constituted by an impugned Government order dated July 7, 1981. - The Board conducted the JEE for admission to Engineering, Medical, and Technological Degree Colleges. - Several writ petitions were filed challenging the constitution of the Board, its rules, and the JEE results, alleging unfairness, arbitrariness, and discrimination. FINDING OF THE COURT: - The Court held that the constitution of the Board was legal and valid, and the impugned Government order dated July 7, 1981, was not ultra vires Article 154(2) of the Constitution read with Section 52(a) of the Calcutta University Act, 1979. - The Court found that the Board had the authority to constitute sub-committees, including the Confidential Sub-committee, and that the delegation of power to the Confidential Sub-committee to consider and finalize the JEE results was not illegal or arbitrary. - The Court also upheld the Board's resolution to add grace marks of 50 in Biology and 25 in Mathematics to all candidates, as it did not change the positions of candidates in the merit list. - The Court rejected the allegations of unfairness and arbitrariness in the JEE, finding no evidence of grace marks being given only to a selected few or of any manipulation of the results. - The Court dismissed the writ petitions and discharged the Rule Nisi issued earlier. ISSUES: - Legality and validity of the constitution of the Board and its rules. - Allegations of unfairness and arbitrariness in the JEE conducted by the Board. RATIO DECIDENDI: - The Court held that the constitution of the Board was legal and valid, as the Government had ample authority to frame rules and regulations for admission to Engineering, Medical, and Technological Degree Courses under Article 162 of the Constitution. - The Court also held that the Board had the authority to constitute sub-committees and delegate power to them, and that the delegation of power to the Confidential Sub-committee was not illegal or arbitrary. - The Court further held that the giving of grace marks to all candidates at flat rates did not violate the principles of natural justice or amount to discrimination, as it did not affect the relative positions of the candidates in the merit list. FINAL DECISION: - The Court dismissed the writ petitions and discharged the Rule Nisi issued earlier, upholding the legality and validity of the Board's constitution and rules and rejecting the allegations of unfairness and arbitrariness in the JEE. CATEGORY: Education Law SUB-CATEGORY: Entrance Examinations
( 1 ) THESE appeals have been preferred by the State of West Bengal and the West Bengal Board of Examination for admission to Engineering, Medical and Technological Degree Colleges, hereinafter referred to as the Board, against the judgment and order of a learned single Judge making absolute the Rule Nisi issued on the application of the writ petitioners who are some unsuccessful candidates in the Joint Entrance Examination for the year 1982 held by the Board. Initially, one of the writ applications was filed by Dr. Jitendra Lal Banerjee and his son Jayanta Banerjee. Jayanta Banerjee appeared in the Joint Entrance Examination for 1982, but was unsuccessful. Although there was no specific prayer in the writ petition under Order 1, Rule 8 of the Civil P. C. . , it appears that the learned Judge granted leave under the said provision. After the leave was granted, a few unsuccessful candidates also appeared and were permitted to be added as writ petitioners. The added writ petitioners filed affidavits supporting the original writ petitioners.
( 2 ) BEFORE we proceed to deal with the cases of the respective parties we may, at this stage, refer to the establishment of the Board and its constitution. It appears that the Bengal Engineering College, Sibpore, the Regional Engineering College, Durgapur and the Jalpaiguri Engineering College agreed to have a joint admission test to be conducted by a Board to be constituted with the heads of those institutions or their nominees and a representative of the Education Department, Government of West Bengal. Pursuant to such agreement, the Government of West Bengal issued an order dated April 23, 1962, inter alia, directing that the Board should be an official body with full power to operate the Rules and procedure to be evolved by the Board with necessary staff to be appointed by the Board. Subsequently, the College of Engineering and Technology, Jadavpur University also became a member of the Board. By another Government order, the Board was directed to hold the Joint Entrance Examination of candidates for admission to the pre-medical course in Dental and Medical Colleges in West Bengal. The Board is now constituted with the Principals or Heads of all Medical Colleges and all Engineering and Technological Colleges in West Bengal, the Deputy Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department, Government of West Bengal, the Deputy Director of Health Services (Medical Education, Research and Training), West Bengal, the Deputy Secretary, Education Department (in charge of technical matters), Government of West Bengal and the Officer-in-charge of the Board. Of these members, the Principal, Bengal Engineering College, Sibpore is the Chairman of the Board. At present Dr. Arun Kumar Seal, who is the Principal of the Bengal Engineering College, Sibpore is the Chairman and Dr. P. K. Roy, a Professor of that College is the Secretary or the Officer-in-charge of the Board.
( 3 ) THE functions of the Board are to invite applications from the candidates for admission in different Engineering, Technological and Medical Colleges in West Bengal. The Board has framed certain Rules for the Joint Entrance Examination, 1982. It is pro-vided in these Rules that the Board is in no way responsible for admission to the constituent Colleges. It only provides the results of the Joint Entrance Examination to the colleges and the Central Selection Committee and the final selection rests with them. Further, the Board does not publish the result. It does not also communicate the result to any individual candidate and does not have any provision for post-publication scrutiny and review. The Rules also provide for the eligibility of the candidates, the manner of making applications for the Joint Entrance Examination, the registration of candidates, the programme of examination, place of examination and the viva-voce and medical tests.
( 4 ) IT has been already stated that the writ petitioner Jayanta Banerjee a
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