The cancellation of examination results based on mere suspicion of malpractice, derived from similarities in answers without contemporaneous report or direct incriminating evidence, is arbitrary, violates the right to equality, and is legally unsustainable.

Date of Hearing : 17.03.2026 :: Date of Judgment : 26.02.2026

JUDGMENT

ANANDA CHANDRA BEHERA, J.—

1. This writ petition under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India, 1950 has been filed by the petitioners praying for quashing the impugned memorandum dated 08.10.2025 (Annexure-4) issued by the Under Secretary (Confidential), Central Board of Secondary Education, Regional Office, Bhubaneswar (Opp. Party No.3) and for issuance of necessary directions to the Opp. Parties to publish the result of the petitioners, in respect of their Secondary Examination, 2025 (Class-X) within a stipulated time and to pass such other order/orders or direction/directions as the Courts deems fit and proper in order to give complete relief to the petitioners.

2. The case of the petitioners is that, they (petitioners) were the regular students of Class-X of Padampur Public School in the District of Bargarh. They (petitioners) appeared their Secondary Examination, 2025 (Class-X) under the Central Board of Secondary Education in Odisha Adarsha Vidyalaya, Bandupali as the regular students on the basis of the admit cards vide Annexure-1 series issued to them by the CBSE (Opp. Party No.1). Though, in the said examination, they (petitioners) had done extremely well, but their results in the website were published on dated 13.05.2025 reflecting UFM (Unfair Means) without awarding any mark in their any paper. Subsequently, the Principal, Padampur Public School, Padampur provided them the Official Order dated 26.05.2025 issued by the Opp. Party No.2 (Regional Director, Central Board of Secondary Education, Regional Office, Bhubaneswar) stating that, their examination papers in the subjects i.e. Mathematics Standard (Subject Code: 041), Science (Subject Code:086) and English Language and Literature (Subject Code: 184) have been cancelled for adoption of unfair means (UFM), because their answers in some questions in the said subjects are similar with their adjacent students, for which, their result of 2025 in their all subjects has been cancelled.

To which, the petitioners challenged by filing WPC No.16045 of 2025 praying for quashing the cancellation of their results and to direct the Opp. Parties to publish their results.

The said Writ Petition vide WPC No.16045 of 2025 of the petitioners was decided analogously with other writ petitions of other students of Class X by this Court and the Judgment thereof was passed on dated 15.09.2025 as per Annexure-3, wherein the C.B.S.E (Opp. Party No.1) was directed to make an enquiry in terms of Bye-Laws 36 of the CBSE after giving reasonable opportunity of participation to the petitioners stipulating the outer limit of that enquiry within two weeks keeping all the contentions of the parties open.

In pursuance to the said analogous Judgment passed on dated 15.09.2025 in WPC No.16045 of 2025 along with other WPCs vide Annexure-3 by this Court, the CBSE (Opp. Party No.1) conducted an enquiry into the matter through its UFM Sub-Committee and during the course of that enquiry, the UFM Sub-Committee of the CBSE supplied a printed format to the petitioners in respect of some questions, which were not related with examination subject in order to answer Yes or No.

3. Thereafter, a copy of the memorandum dated 08.10.2025 vide Annexure-4 series were issued by the Under Secretary (Confidential), Central Board of Secondary Education, Bhubaneswar (Opp. Party No.3) on behalf of Opp. Party No.1 (CBSE) to the petitioners informing them that:

They are found indulged in Unfair Means activity under Rule 36.2(vi) & (vi