( 1. ) THIS Letters Patent Appeal is filed by the respondents against the order passed in Writ Petition No. 2348 of 2003 passed by Honble Single Judge of this Court on 23-9-2003 whereby the learned Single Judge allowed the petition filed by respondent Nos. 1 to 27 and directed the appellant, Board, to afford opportunity of hearing to the petitioners before cancelling their results. ( 2. ) THE brief facts giving rise to the petition arc that respondent Nos. 1 to 27 are regular students from D. A. V. Higher Secondary School, Bhind and Indira Gandhi Memorial High School, Bhind. All these petitioners appeared in the examination of higher secondary from examination centre No. 31005. Nearly 400 students appeared in the examination from the aforesaid centre. Out of these students the result of 119 students were cancelled on the ground that their answers were found identically the same. Even the mistakes appeared in the answer papers were also the same in all the papers answered by these students. Thus, it was found that all these students were indulged in mass-copying and malpractice. Hence, their results were cancelled.

( 3. ) THE contention of the students is that the examination was conducted under strict security. There is no report about the mass-copying from the Invigilators or any other officer from the Centre. Hence, the action against the students is illegal and arbitrary. It is further contended that no opportunity of hearing was afforded to the students before cancelling their examination. On these grounds the students filed a common petition before this Court which was allowed by the impugned order.

( 4. ) THE Honblc Single Judge has set aside the order of cancellation of results only on the ground that no opportunity of hearing was afforded to the students before cancelling their results. As regards the merits of the case the learned Single Judge has directed that the Board shall decide the matter afresh after hearing the students whose results arc cancelled. Thus, the only question before this Court is whether the learned Single Judge was right in setting aside the order of cancelling the result only on the ground that opportunity was not afforded to the students.

( 5. ) THE contention of the appellant-Board before this Court is that the order setting aside the decision of cancelling examination on a ground that no opportunity of hearing was afforded to the students is illegal and can not be sustained. For this purpose Smt. June Choudhary, learned Counsel for the appellant relied on the judgment of the Apex Court in the case of Madhyamik Shiksha Mandal, M. P. v. Ahhilash Shiksha Prasar Samiti and Ors. [1997 (2) JLJ 113]. In that case the examination of the students were cancelled on the report of Naib Tehsildar to the effect that there was mass copying in the examination. The petition filed by the students was allowed by this Court. The Apex Court has held :-

"it is unfortunate that the student community resorts to such methods to succeed in examinations and then some of them come forward to contend that innocent students become victims of such misbehaviour of their companions. That can not be helped. In such a situation the Board is left with no alternative but to cancel the examination. It is extremely difficult for the Board to identify the innocent students from those indulging in malpractices. One may feel sorry for the innocent students but one has to appreciate the situation in which the Board was placed and the alternatives that were available to it so far as this examination was concerned. It had no alternative but to cancel the results and we think, in the circumstances, they were justified in doing so. This should serve as a lesson to the students that such malpractices will not help them succeed in the examination and they may have to go through the drill once again. We also think that those incharge of the examination should also take action against their Supervisors/invigilators etc. , who either permi