Kumari Jyoti Gupta (Minor) vs Govt. Of N.C.T. Of Delhi & Ors.
2010 Latest Caselaw 3830 Del

             *IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

                                            Date of decision: 17th August, 2010.

+        W.P.(C) No.5393/2010 & CM No.10631/2010 (u/S 151 CPC for
         interim directions)

%

         KUMARI JYOTI GUPTA (MINOR)                ..... Petitioner
                       Through: Mr. Ashok Agarwal with Ms. Kusum
                                Sharma, Advocates.

                                   Versus


         GOVT. OF N.C.T. OF DELHI & ORS.             ..... Respondents
                        Through: Mr. Nawal Kishore Jha, Adv. for R-1
                                  & 2 with Ms. Kamlesh Singh,
                                  Principal of R- 2.
                                  Mr. Atul Kumar, Adv. for R-3.

CORAM :-
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAJIV SAHAI ENDLAW
1.       Whether reporters of Local papers may
         be allowed to see the judgment?               No

2.       To be referred to the reporter or not?        No

3.       Whether the judgment should be reported       No
         in the Digest?

RAJIV SAHAI ENDLAW, J.

1. The petitioner a student of the respondent no.2 Sarvodaya Kanya

Vidyalaya, a recognized Government School under the respondent no.1

Director of Education, has filed this writ petition aggrieved from being

denied the subject of English in Class-XI and having been instead allocated

the subject of Sanskrit. The contention of the counsel for the petitioner is

that the admission criteria prescribed in the Circular dated 28 th May, 2010,

for the Commerce and the Humanities Stream is as under:-

"2. Commerce Stream (with Maths): A student declared passed at the Secondary school examination must have secured at least C2 Grade overall, C1 in Maths and C2 in English and Social Science separately or its equivalent percentage marks in aggregate and in each of the concerned subjects.

3. Commerce (without Maths): A student declared passed at the Secondary school examination must have secured at least C2 Grade overall and also at least C2 Grade in English/Hindi and in Social Science separately or its equivalent percentage or marks in aggregate and in each of the concerned subjects.

4. Humanities: A student must have been declared passed by the CBSE at the Secondary School examination or its equivalent board."

2. It is contended that the petitioner having been declared pass by

respondent no.3 Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) in the

Secondary School Examination (Class-X) is entitled to a subject of her

choice.

3. The counsel for the respondents no.1 & 2 has relied on paragraph 7.4

of the Eligibility Requirements, Scheme of Studies and Scheme of

Examinations, which is as under:-

"7.4 Admission to class XI in a school shall be open only to such a student who has:

(a) Obtained minimum Grade D in at least five subjects of external examination as per the Scheme of Studies and a Qualifying Certificate at the Secondary School (Class X) Examination conducted by this Board.

(b) Has passed an equivalent examination conducted by any other recognized Board of Secondary

Education/Indian University and recognized by this Board as equivalent to its secondary school examination; and

(c) Has obtained minimum Grade D in the Scholastic areas as well as satisfactory Grades in Co- Scholastic areas under the Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation and Certificate of School- Based Assessment duly signed by the Board at the Secondary School (Class X) Examination conducted by a Senior Secondary School affiliated to the Board.

Notwithstanding anything contained in the rules above, Chairman shall have the powers to permit admission in Class XI in respect of such students who have opted for not appearing for the Secondary School examination conducted by the Board but changing school after passing the Secondary School examination conducted by a Senior Secondary School affiliated to the Board on grounds of shifting of family from one place to another, transfer of parent(s), for better academic performance or on medical grounds etc. to avoid undue hardship to the candidate(s)."

4. The counsel for the respondents no.1 & 2 under instructions from the

Principal of the respondent no.2 School present in person also states that the

petitioner, in Class-X examination had six subjects including English; that

the petitioner failed in English subject, having secured Grade E-1 therein;

however in the other five subjects, the petitioner was declared pass and thus

held entitled to admission in Class-XI. It is contended that the petitioner

having failed in the subject of English in Class-X could not have been

allocated the said subject in Class-XI. On the contrary, it is pointed out that

the petitioner had secured Grade B-1 in the Sanskrit subject in Class-X.

5. The counsel for the respondent no.3 CBSE while supporting the

contention of the respondents no.1 & 2 has further submitted that the

petitioner, if desirous of taking the subject of English in Class-XI, could

have appeared in the supplementary examination held and if had passed in

the same, could have insisted upon the same in Class-XI. It is otherwise the

stand of the respondent no.3 CBSE that the CBSE has not prescribed any

norms for allocation of stream or of any subject and the norms are to be

framed by the schools themselves.

6. The counsel for the petitioner has countered the aforesaid argument

by averring that in the eligibility criteria prescribed for the Commerce

Stream (with Maths), it is expressly provided that the students must secure

at least Grade C-2 in English. It is contended that there is no such criteria

laid down in the Humanities Stream i.e. of the requirement of having at least

passed in the subject of English.

7. I am unable to accept the contention of the counsel for the petitioner.

The passing Grade is Grade-D. The eligibility criteria for the Stream of

Commerce (with Maths) provides for minimum Grade C-2, which is a Grade

higher than the pass Grade. The eligibility criteria for the Humanities Stream

did not need to provide that a student to be eligible for a subject was

required to pass that subject in Class-X examination. That is quite obvious

and merely because it has not been so stated in the Circular would not make

any difference.

8. I also do not find any irrationality in the decision of the respondent

no.2 School of having not allowed the petitioner who had failed in the

subject of English in Class-X to take the said subject in Class-XI.

9. The Principal of the respondent no.2 School however states that even

if the petitioner passes the exam for English in the next Supplementary

Examination to be held, the petitioner would be entitled to take English as

an additional subject in Class-XII.

10. There is no merit in the writ petition. The writ petition is dismissed.

No order as to costs.

RAJIV SAHAI ENDLAW (JUDGE) 17th August, 2010 bs