ORDER

19.08.2008 — Heard Mr. Nayak, learned counsel for the petitioners and learned counsel for the opp.parties.

2. The petitioners in this writ petition have challenged the action of the opp.parties in not declaring the result of Annual +2 Science Examination, 2008 conducted by the Council of Higher Secondary Education (in short, ‘the CHSE’) on the ground that the students of the Kantabanji Vocational College, Kanta¬banji, who are the wards and children of the petitioners, adopted mass malpractice. The petitioners having sought for issuance of a direction to the C.H.S.E. to declare the result of their wards and children upon quashing the notification under Annexure-1.

3. The case of the petitioners is that their wards and children appeared in the above examination and though they faired well in all the papers including Chemistry and Mathematics, but the said two papers have been illegally cancelled on the basis of vague and baseless grounds and “00” marks have been awarded to all the candidates, in both the above papers. The result of the Annual +2 Science Examination, 2008 was declared on 28.5.2008 showing that the result of the students of the above college is withheld and the reason assigned was ‘extraordinary performance’. The petitioners allege that 23 students, who appeared in the said examination, faired very well in the said examination and out of them, 17 (seventeen) students secured First Division marks and 6 (six) students secured Second Division marks. Though there was no reason to raise a suspicion of mass mal-practice, arbitrarily all the students were awarded “00” marks in the above two papers as evident from the notification under Annexure-1 issued pursuant to the order of the Chairman, CHSE, by the Controller of Examina¬tions. The petitioners have further alleged that the examination in the said college was peacefully conducted and there were no adverse remarks in the report of the Zonal Flying Squad, who visited the examination centre when the examinees were appearing for Mathematics on 17.3.2008 (Ist sitting). They have expressed their satisfaction in the way the examination was conducted. Apart from the report of the Flying Squad, three invigilators, each on 11.3.2008 when the examines appeared in the Chemistry paper and on 17.3.2008 when they appeared in the Mathematics paper, invigilated during the examination and they have not given any adverse report nor the Centre Superintendent reported to the CHSE giving any adverse remarks with regard to conduct of the said examination in the college.

4. Mr. Nayak, learned counsel for the petitioners vehe¬mently submits that in the absence of any material in support of the action taken by the CHSE in awarding “00” marks to the candi¬dates in the aforesaid two papers and in the absence of any notice to the college authorities asking for a showing cause, issuance of Annexure-1 is illegal and arbitrary inasmuch as in violation of the principles of natural justice. She relies upon various decisions of this Court in support of the contention that on the basis of suspicion a positive decision cannot be arrived at and in absence of positive evidence of involvement and of the candidates in mal-practice, no presumption can be drawn that they adopted such mal-practice. He also submits that this Court has laid down in several decided cases that before arriving at a conclusion that the examinees were involved in commission of mal-practice during examination, requirements of natural justice have to be followed and the authorities cannot utilize materials which have not been put to the candidates. His further contention is that there being no allegation in the report of the Flying Squad, who visited the examination centre on the date when the examina¬tion was being conducted in Mathematics paper, the decision of the authorities of the Council in awarding “00” marks to the candidates appearing in the said college in both Mathematics and Chemistry papers is unsustainable. Accordi