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2006 Supreme(Cal) 798
High Court Of Calcutta
Before Mr. Justice Debasish Kar Gupta, J.
AMAR KUMAR BHOWMICK - Appellant
Versus
STATE OF WEST BENGAL - Respondent
W. P 26764 (W) Of 2006
Decided On : 12/18/2006
Asok Deb, DEBJANI SENGUPTA, GAUTAM RAY, S.BHATTACHARYYA, SUBRATA BHATTACHARYYA, SUMIT KUMAR PANJA
In order to be treated as an external candidate for the Madhyamik Pariksha examination conducted by the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education, a candidate must get his name registered and pass the Madhyamik Test Pariksha or any other equivalent examination recognized by the Board.
Headnote:
EDUCATION - RECOGNITION OF SCHOOL - EXTERNAL CANDIDATES - ELIGIBILITY: - Wards of petitioners, students of Class-X, not entitled to appear in Madhyamik Pariksha, 2007 as external candidates due to failure to register and pass the Madhyamik Test Pariksha or any other equivalent examination recognized by the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education.
Fact of the Case:
Petitioners, guardians of six students of class -X of Children's Villa, sought a direction to allow their wards to sit for the ensuing Madhyamik Pariksha, 2007 conducted by the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education from any recognized School as regular candidates. The School was provisionally affiliated by the Council for the Indian School Certificate examination, New Delhi, upto March 2006. The petitioners came to know that an application was made for recognition of the School under the West Bengal Board of secondary Education on December 31, 2004.
Finding of the Court:
The Court held that the wards of the petitioners were not entitled to appear in the ensuing Madhyamik Pariksha, 2007 to be conducted by the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education as external candidates. The Court found that the wards of the petitioners did not obtain registration certificates in accordance with the provisions of Regulation 7 of the West Bengal Board of secondary Education (Examination) Regulations, 2001 or appear in the test examination conducted by the Board at any Selected Centres or about July 2006.
Issues: Whether the wards of the petitioners were entitled to appear in the Madhyamik Pariksha, 2007 as external candidates.
Ratio Decidendi: The Court relied on the provisions of Regulation 2(xx) and Regulation 7 of the West Bengal Board of secondary Education (Examination) Regulations, 2001, which require a candidate to get his name registered and pass the Madhyamik Test Pariksha or any other equivalent examination recognized by the Board in order to be treated as an external candidate. The Court also relied on the decision of CBSE and Anr. v. P. Sunil Kumar and Ors., AIR 1998 SC 2235, which held that students of an unaffiliated institution cannot be permitted to appear at the examination conducted by the Board under orders of the Court and then compel the Board to issue certificates in their favor.
Final Decision: The Court dismissed the writ application, holding that the wards of the petitioners were not entitled to appear in the Madhyamik Pariksha, 2007 as external candidates.
( 1 ) LET affidavit-of-service filed on behalf of the petitioner be kept on the record.
( 2 ) THE matter is taken up for final hearing on the basis of the documents available-on-record with consent of the parties.
( 3 ) THIS application is filed by the guardians of six students of class -X of Children's Villa for direction to allow their wards to sit for the ensuing Madhyamik Pariksha, 2007 conducted by the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education form any recognized School as regular candidates.
( 4 ) THE fact of the case in a nutshell is this the wards of the petitioners were duly attached to the aforesaid School. The aforesaid School was provisionally affiliated by the Council for the Indian School Certificate examination, New Delhi, in the year 1999. Such provisional affiliation was upto March 31, 2002, which was subsequently extended upto March 2006. The petitioners came to know from the open circular of the President, managing Committee of the aforesaid School that an application was made for recognition of the aforesaid School under the West Bengal Board of secondary Education on December 31, 2004. The petitioners further came to know that from the communication dated June 9, 2005, that the Assistant secretary, Government of West Bengal, School Education Department, secondary Branch requested the authority of the aforesaid School for a meeting regarding their prayer for recognition of the School without financial assistance. According to the petitioners they further came to know that a District Level Inspection Team visited the aforesaid School on May 5, 2006. The petitioners also came to know that the aforesaid District Level inspection Team recommended for recognition of that School. Thereafter, the petitioners came to know that the last date of submission forms by the candidates through a recognized School is December 18, 2006 to appear in the ensuing Madhyamik Pariksha, 2007 to be conducted by the West bengal Board of Secondary Education from any recognised School. Hence this writ application.
( 5 ) APPEARING on behalf of the petitioners Mr. Asok De, learned Senior advocate, at the very outset submits that he is not pressing the prayer to allow their wards to appear in the aforesaid examination as regular candidate. His prayer is to allow the wards of the petitioners to appear in the aforesaid examination as external candidates. Drawing my attention towards the Clause (xx) of Regulation 2 of the West Bengal Board of secondary Education (Examination) Regulations, 2001 (hereinafter referred to as the said Regulations), Mr. De submits that facility to appear as external candidate in the aforesaid examination is available to the wards of the petitioners. The next submission of Mr. De is that in accordance with the provisions of Regulation 7 of the said Regulations, a candidate, on completion of prescribed course of studies intending to appear as external, shall have to be registered and to obtain registration certificate with a number for enrolment as test examinee before appearing at the madhyamik Pariksha (Secondary Examination ). According to Mr. De the school made an application before the West Bengal Board of Secondary education for recognition. The wards of the petitioners, completed their studies of Class-X on the basis of the syllabus of the Board. In view of the above the wards of the petitioners are entitled to register their names for appearing in the Madhyamik Pariksha (Secondary Examination ).
( 6 ) RELYING upon the decision of Rajendra Prasad Mathur v. Karnataka university and Anr. , reported in AIR 1986 SC 1448, Mr. De submits that the fault, if any, lies with the aforesaid School which admitted the wards of the petitioners in the aforesaid School. In a similar situation the students were allowed to continue their studies in their respective Engineering Colleges in which they were granted admission.
( 7 ) RELYING upon an unreported decision of this High Cou
