HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD ?AFR Court No. - 38 Case :- WRIT - C No. - 48106 of 2014 Petitioner :- Rakesh Kumar Respondent :- State Of U.P. & 3 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Bhaiya Lal Yadav,S.L. Yadav Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C. Hon'ble Pankaj Mithal,J.
Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and Standing Counsel for the respondents.
The secretary of the Board is present.
The petitioner has filed this writ petition for a direction upon the Board to issue a fresh mark-sheet of the Intermediate Examination-2014 incorporating marks awarded to him in the subject of Hindi as well.
The petitioner was a private student of Intermediate. He got himself enrolled by offering 4 subjects only namely; Hindi, Civics, Sociology and Wood Craft. He appeared in the Intermediate Examination-2014. He was issued mark-sheet of the Intermediate Examination-2014 on 25 May, 2014. The said mark-sheet contains marks awarded to him in the subjects of Civics, Sociology and Wood Craft only but not in Hindi.
The petitioner has not been awarded marks in the subject of Hindi, which was one of the subject opted by him and in which he had appeared also.
Learned Standing Counsel appearing for the respondents no. 1 and 2 submits that in the Intermediate Examination, it is mandatory to offer five subjects. The petitioner had only opted for 4 subjects. Therefore, he cold not be declared to have passed Intermediate.
The controversy is not as to whether the petitioner has passed Intermediate or not rather the issue is if the petitioner had offered Hindi as the subject and appeared in its papers is he not entitle to marks in the said subject.
Notwithstanding the defence set up as above by the learned Standing Counsel, it is not dispute that the petitioner had applied for the Intermediate Examination-2014 and had offered four subjects. His examination form was duly processed and he was issued admit card on the strength of four subjects offered by him. He took the examination, therefore, he is entitle to be awarded marks in all the four subjects in which he had appeared in the examination. The Board of High Schools and Intermediate U.P. was estopped in law in not declaring his marks of all the four subjects offered by him and in which he had appeared and confining the declaration of his marks in 3 subjects only.
Learned Standing Counsel at this stage states that the Board has realised the mistake, and had issued a duplicate mark-sheet to the petitioner on 20.09.2014 awarding marks in all of the 4 subjects as opted by the petitioner.
A photocopy of the said duplicate mark-sheet so issued to the petitioner has been produced. The aforesaid mark-sheet is not signed by the Secretary of the Board. The original mark-sheet issued to the petitioner earlier was signed by the Secretary of the Board. The Board is the examining body and its Secretary is the Principal Officer under whose signatures all actions of the Board are taken. Therefore, all certificates and mark-sheets issued by the Board has to be signed by the Secretary of the Board. The Board can not leave the job of signing the mark sheets upon the Principal of the College concern as the certificate or the mark sheet is not a document of the College but of the Board.
No Rule or any Regulation has been shown which absolves the Secretary of the Board from the task of signing the certificates or the mark sheets.
In view of the above and as the earlier mark-sheet certificate issued to the petitioner was signed by the Secretary, the revised mark-sheet has also to be issued by the Board under the Signatures of its Secretary.
This apart, the duplicate mark-sheet issued to the petitioner reveals that it is simple mark-sheet whereas earlier the petitioner was issued mark-sheet-cum-certificate. This anomaly is not understandable. The Board has to adopt uniform policy of either issuing the mark-sheet or certificate separately or mark-sheet cum certificate combined. Even in case where there is some mistake in the mark sheet cum certificate concerning marks, the entire document as a whole is required to re-issued after rectification of the mistake.
In view of the aforesaid facts and circumstances, the petition is disposed of with the direction to the Board to issue a revised mark-sheet-cum-certificate to the petitioner in respect to his Intermediate Examination-2014 under the signatures of its Secretary containing marks of all the four subjects within a period of one month from today.
In the event, the petitioner is not satisfied and is of the opinion that he has suffered loss on account of the mistake on the part of the Board, it will be open for him to file a suit for damages against the Board, for illegally accepting his Examination Form.
Henceforth, the Board shall not issue any certificate or mark sheet of High Schools or Intermediate without the signatures of its Secretary or any other competent officer authorised in that behalf but shall not leave it upon the Principals of the Schools/Colleges.
The writ petition is disposed of.
Order Date :- 21.12.2015 v.k.updh.