The Board's action in withholding the petitioner's result was arbitrary and not sustainable in law.

PALOK BASU, J.

( 1 ) THE short question involved in the present writ petition is as to whether the withholding of the result of the petitioner who had appeared as a student in the High School Examination held by the Board in the year 1989 is proper.

( 2 ) THE facts are that the petitioner Km. Geeta Verma alleges herself to be a regular student of Class X of S. M. Singh Inter-College, Baruabari, Ballia. Her case is that she, just as 76 other girl students, filled in the necessary forms for appearing at the High School Examination for the year 1989 conducted by the Board of High School and Intermediate Education, U. P. Allahahad. The result as indicated through the marks-sheet shows that the petitioner has passed the said examination in II Division. The Photostat copy of the marks-sheet has been filed as Annexure-III to this writ petition. The original marks-sheet as issued to the petitioner has been filed during the course of hearing which may form part of the record.

( 3 ) IT appears that the Board has withheld the result of the petitioner on the supposed suspicion that she was not a regular candidate in the said college but was a private candidate. Similar stand was taken by the Board with regard to the 76 other girl students whose results were also withheld in similar fashion. It may be pertinent to mention here that the 76 other girl students had filed a Civil Misc. Writ Petition No. 13960 of 1989 Km. Ajnu Verma and others v. Board of High School and Intermediate Education, Allahabad which had been decided by this Court on 19/07/1990 a true copy of the said order has been filed as Annexure-IV to this writ petition. It has been held therein that the action of the Board relating to those 76 students whereby the formal declaration of result was withheld was arbitrary and not sustainable in law.

( 4 ) SRI L. C. Srivastava, leaned counsel for the petitioner has been heard at length in support of this writ petition while Sri Kaushalendra Singh Chauhan, learned standing counsel, has been heard on behalf of the State and the entire petition has been perused. It may be pertinent to mention here that the standing counsel was granted time up to 9-5-1991 to file a counter-affidavit. Further time was granted to him on 26/07/1991, to file a counter-affidavit. However, no such affidavit has been filed by the State or the Board which is also represented by the said standing counsel. The learned counsel for the petitioner is, therefore, correct in submitting that this petition is now ripe for admission and can be finally disposed of in accordance with the Rules of Court after hearing the parties. Sri Kaushalendra Singh Chauhan has also thus been heard in opposition to the writ petition which is being finally disposed of at the admission stage.

( 5 ) THREE facts are apparent from the narration of events noted above. Firstly, the petitioner Km. Geeta Verma had filled in the form from S. M. Singh Inter College, Baruabari, Ballia, as a regular candidate in the High School Examination Session 1988-89 held in 1989. Secondly, the admission card was issued to the petitioner Km. Geeta Verma as a regular candidate and she did appear at the High School Examination as such. Thirdly, the marks-sheet issued by the Principal, S. M. Singh Inter College, Baruabari, indicates that she has obtained II Division marks and should be declared as having passed the High School Examination 1989 as a regular candidate in II Division. However her result has not been declared on the supposed suspicion that the petitioner may have been a private candidate and not regular one in the college. In the earlier writ petition the stand taken by the Board was that the Principal of the College was perhaps in league with some students and illegally allowed them to appear as regular candidates in the High School Examination for the year 1989 even though they had not been regular students. This stand of the Board has been rejected on the previous occasion by this Court. Once the admissi