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High Court Of Orissa
A. K. PATRA, PRADIPTA RAY
AMARJEET JENA - Appellant
Versus
COUNCIL OF HIGHER SECONDARY EDUCATION, ORISSA - Respondent
ORIGINAL JURDN. CASE 12976 Of 1997
Decided On : 09/21/1998
HIGHER SECONDARY EDUCATION - REGULATION 107 - INTERPRETATION - EQUIVALENT EXAMINATION - ADMISSION TO SECOND YEAR OF COURSE - ELIGIBILITY - UNREASONABLE RESTRICTION - RIGHT TO EDUCATION - ARTICLES 19(1)(D), (E) AND (F) AND 21 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA.
Fact of the Case:
The petitioner, a student, passed the All India Secondary School Examination conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and was admitted into the All India Senior School Certificate Course in Science conducted by CBSE. He failed the examination and was admitted into the 2nd year of Council's +2 Science Course in Anandpur College. The Council issued an Admit Card permitting him to appear at the Higher Secondary Annual Examination of 1997, but his result was withheld on the ground of absence of registration and ineligibility for appearing at the said Examination.
Finding of the Court:
The Court held that Regulation 107 of the Orissa Higher Secondary Education (Amendment) Regulation, 1983 (the Regulation) should be liberally construed to make it flexible enough to take care of situations like the present one. Any narrow or restricted construction of the provision will bring about most unreasonable, harsh, anomalous and unjust results defeating the genuine interests of the students. The Court further held that the petitioner having been admitted into 2nd year of +2 Science Course by the College and the Council having permitted him to sit in the Examination by issuing unconditional Admit Card, he cannot be held responsible for any irregularity committed by the College and the Council is estopped from refusing to register him and to publish his result.
Issues: 1. Whether Regulation 107 of the Regulation should be liberally construed to include equivalent examinations? 2. Whether the petitioner is eligible to be admitted to the second year of the Higher Secondary Course and to appear at the Higher Secondary Examination of the Council? 3. Whether the Council is estopped from refusing to register the petitioner and to publish his result?
Ratio Decidendi: 1. The Court held that Regulation 107 of the Regulation should be liberally construed to include equivalent examinations. The Court observed that the purpose of Regulation 107 is to ensure that a candidate seeking to appear at the Higher Secondary Examination must have prosecuted study in Higher Secondary or equivalent Course for a period of atleast two years after clearing the Secondary or equivalent Examination. The Court further observed that in India, apart from the State Boards or Councils, there are two Central Boards, namely, the Central Board of Secondary Education and Council of Indian School Certificate Examination which conduct Secondary and Higher Secondary Course and Examinations at All India levels without any territorial limitation. These Secondary and Higher Secondary Courses and Examinations conducted by those Central Educational Bodies have been recognised by all State Boards/councils within India including the Council in Orissa as equivalent to the Secondary and Higher Secondary Course and Examinations of the respective State Boards or Councils. 2. The Court held that the petitioner is eligible to be admitted to the second year of the Higher Secondary Course and to appear at the Higher Secondary Examination of the Council. The Court observed that the petitioner had prosecuted two years study in Sainik School at Bhubaneswar affiliated to CBSE and appeared at the All India Senior School Certificate Examination but could not succeed. Because of transfer of his father, he had to shift to Kaonjhar where there was no School or college conducting the courses for All India Senior School Certificate Examination. As he was a student of Science, it was not possible for him to appear at any Examination without getting admitted into an institution and without attending practical classes. He had no other alternative than to get himself admitted into a College affiliated to the Council and to appear at the next Higher Secondary Examination of the Council. 3. The Court held that the Council is estopped from refusing to register the petitioner and to publish his result. The Court observed that the petitioner was admitted into the College in the 2nd year and the Council issued an Admit Card permitting him to appear at the Examination without any condition or qualification. The Court further observed that the petitioner did not suffer from any basic qualitative deficiency.
Final Decision: The Court allowed the writ petition and directed the Council to register the name of the petitioner and to publish petitioner's result of Annual Higher Secondary Examination of 1997 forthwith.
PRADIPTA RAY, J.
( 1 ) THE writ petitioner appeared at the Annual Higher Secondary Examination of 1997 under the Council of Higher Secondary Education, Orissa (hereinafter referred to as the 'council'), but his result has been withheld on the ground that he was not eligible to appear at the said Higher Secondary Examination. The petitioner has filed this writ petition challenging such withholding of result.
( 2 ) UNDISPUTED facts of the present case are:-THE petitioner passed All India Secondary School Examination of 1994 conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (hereinafter referred to as the 'c. B. S. E. ') from Sainik School, Bhubaneswar. He was thereafter admitted into All India Senior School Certificate Course in Science conducted by C. B. S. E. which is equivalent to '+2 Science Course' of the Council in Orissa. He appeared in the said All India Senior School Certificate Examination in 1996 but failed. In the meantime his father was transferred from Bhubaneswar to Keonjhar. There being no Central School affiliated to C. B. S. E. petitioner had to get himself admitted in the 2nd year of Council's + 2 Science Course in Anandpur College. At the time of admission petitioner submitted all the relevant documents including the School Leaving Certificate, Pass Certificate of All India Secondary School Examination of 1994, Conduct Certificate issued by Sainik School and the Migration Certificate issued by the Central Board of Secondary Education. Petitioner's name was duly forwarded to the Council by Anandpur College for necessary permission to appear at the Higher Secondary Annual Examination of 1997. Council issued Admit Card permitting him to appear at the said Examination without any condition or qualification. Petitioner duly appeared at the said Annual Examination of 1997, but his result has been withheld on the ground of absence of registration and ineligibility for appearing at the said Examination.
( 3 ) IN the counter filed by the Council it has been pointed out that under the Regulation of the Council, no student whose name has not been entered in the Register of students can be permitted to appear for any Examination of the Council and a registered student of the Council may be admitted to the Annual Examination of the Council only if he or she has completed a regular course of study in one or more affiliated institutions recognised for the purpose of Council's Examination for not less than two academic years after passing the High School Certificate Examination of the Board of Secondary Education, Orissa or some other equivalent Examination recognised by the Council. According to the Council, petitioner did not study for two years in any affiliated institution recognised for the Council's Higher Secondary Examination.
( 4 ) MR. Ganeswar Rath, learned Advocate appearing for the petitioner, has submitted that the provisions of Regulation 107 of the Orissa Higher Secondary Education (Amendment) Regulation, 1983 (hereinafter referred to as the 'regulation') should be liberally construed to make it flexible enough to take care of a situation like the present one. Any narrow or restricted construction of the provision will bring about most unreasonable, harsh, anomalous and unjust results defeating the genuine interests of the students. He has placed reliance upon a decision of the Supreme Court in Meenakshi Malik v. University of Delhi, reported in AIR 1989 SC 1568. He has further submitted that the petitioner having been admitted into 2nd year of +2 Science Course by the College and the Council having permitted him to sit in the Examination by issuing unconditional Admit Card, he cannot be held responsible for any irregularity committed by the College and the Council is estopped from refusing to register him and to publish his result. In support of the second submission, Mr. Rath has referred to the decision of the Supreme Court in Sanatan Gouda v. Berhampur University, AIR 1990 SC 1075, followed in Prak
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