Orissa High Court
Odishaabhibhabakmahasangha vs Unknown on 11 October, 2022
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF ORISSA AT CUTTACK
WP (C ) No.20398 of 2022
OdishaAbhibhabakMahasangha .... Petitioner
Ms.AdishaMohanty,Advocate
-versus-
Central Board of Secondary .... Opp.Parties
Education, Delhi & another
CORAM:
THE CHIEF JUSTICE
JUSTICE CHITTARANJAN DASH
ORDER
11.10.2022
Order No.
03. 1. The present Public Interest Litigation has been brought by
OdishaAbhibhabakMahasangha questioning the criteria adopted
by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) of
shifting the weightage between Term-I and Term-II
examinations held by the Schools covered by the CBSE system.
During the period of pandemic in which there was a complete
closure of schools during November and December, 2021.
Accordingly,the weightage has been shifted to 30:70 for the two
terms. In other words, CBSE has decided by means of a circular
dated 31st March 2022 that 30% weightage would been given to
Term-I marks and 70% weightage to Term- II marks.
2. On an earlier occasion, this Court had poseda queryto the
learned counsel for the Petitioner whether the changed criteria
adversely would affect all the students uniformly or whether it
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would affect one section of the students who may not have
scored sufficient marks in either Term. Learned counsel for the
Petitioner offered that the Petitioner's organization would itself
conduct an empirical study to ascertain the factual position.
3. Pursuant thereto I.A No.13684 of 2022 has been filed by the
Petitioner inter alia enclosing a copy of the result of survey
conducted by the Petitioner organization. The fact of the matter
is that the Petitioner has ascertained that while there may be a
section of students aggrieved by the changed criteria of the
CBSE, the Petitioner organization has not been able to persuade
such students to come forth to implead themselves as
Petitioners. Learned counsel for the Petitioner candidly states
that those students may be apprehensive of the result of such
challenge to the changed criteria.
4. Learned counsel for the Petitioner also drew the attention to
the Court to the judgment dated 26th August,2022 of the learned
Single Judge of the Delhi High Court in Devasri Bali v.
Central Board of Secondary Education whereby relief was
granted to the individual Petitioner by issuing directions to the
CBSE to declare her result in terms of previous circular dated
5th July,2021 which provides for special scheme of assessment
mandating equal weightage to the theory papers for Term-I and
Term-II while computing the result. In particular, learned
counsel for the Petitioner has the drawn attention of this Court
to the following passage of the said judgment;
"31. Officer of the CBSE was present during the
hearings before this Court and assisted this Court.
On the query made by this Court qua the approval of
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the Minutes of the Result Committee Meeting,
which has been placed on record, the concerned
officer responded that the same has been approved
by the competent authority of the Board. Upon not
finding any formal order by the competent authority
enforcing the recommendation regarding the new
weightage formula, this Court was constrained to
summon the Original file, which was furnished by
the concerned officer present in the Court. However,
it was disappointing to see that only two green
coloured sheets containing the notes of the
Controller of Examinations was present, and no such
order made by the Chairperson/Competent Authority
accepting, enforcing and notifying the
recommendation regarding the new weightage
formula was present in the file produced. Even, the
Officer present was unable to satisfactorily answer
the query of the Court in this regard."
5. This Court notes that in Para 40 of the same judgment, the
learned Single Judge of Delhi High Court has observed as
under:
"40. As goes the popular saying - "Justice should
not only be done, but also seen to be done." In the
academic Session 2021-2022, around 14 lakhs
students appeared for the CBSE Class-XII Board
Examinations, whose results have been prepared and
declared in accordance with revised weightage
formula. Therefore, in the greater interest of the
students at large and to ensure that justice does not
in itself become an agent of chaos, as well as in light
of the fact that the petitioner has not pressed its
prayer for setting aside of the impugned circular of
revised weightage formula, this Court is not
interfering with the Revised Scheme of Weightage
of Term-I and Term-II exams dated 23rd July 2022.
It is also made clear that the petition has been partly
allowed in the peculiar facts and circumstances of
the case and shall not operate as a precedent."
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6. In the above circumstances, with the aggrieved students not
being prepared to come before this Court as Petitioners, this
Court is not inclined to entertain the present petition in the
current form as a PIL. Nevertheless, it will be open to the
aggrieved students if any to seek relief in appropriate
proceedings, including approaching the CBSE, by relying on
the aforementioned judgment of the learned Single Judge of the
Delhi High Court, if it has not in the meanwhile been interfered
with in appeal.
7. The writ petition is disposed of in the above terms.
(Dr. S. Muralidhar)
Chief Justice
(Chittaranjan Dash)
Judge
B.C.Mohanty
