SC agrees to hear plea seeking Class XII board exam cancellation

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a petition seeking cancellation of Class XII CBSE and Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) exams and to devise an objective methodology to declare the result of class XII within a specific time frame amid the ongoing second wave of the Covid pandemic in the country

A vacation bench comprising Justices AM Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari was considering a Public Interest Litigation filed by Advocate Mamta Sharma.

The bench adjourned the matter to May 31 after noting that the petitioner has not served an advanced copy on the standing counsel for the CBSE. The bench asked the petitioner to serve the advance copy on the CBSE counsel and listed the matter on May 31 at 11 AM.

Justice Dinesh Maheshwari observed during the short hearing that the CBSE is likely to take a call on the matter on June 1. Senior Advocate JK Das appeared for the ICSE.

The petition filed by advocate Mamta Sharma urged the top court to issue directions to the boards to cancel the Class XII examinations, instead devise an objective methodology to declare the result within a specific time frame.

"The Covid -19 situation is more severe in comparison to last year and require the respondents to adopt the same criteria of assessing the grading/marks of Class XII students as done in the last year", said the plea.

The plea contended that notifications issued by CBSE and ICSE deferring the exams to an unspecified date should be quashed, adding that students cannot be subjected to suffer uncertainty amid an unprecedented public health crisis.

"In view of the unprecedented health emergency and rising numbers of the Covid -19 cases in the country, the conduct of examination (either offline/online/blended) in upcoming weeks is not possible and delay in the examination will cause irreparable loss to the students as time is the essence in taking admission in higher education courses in foreign universities", the plea argued.

The plea contended that it is a fit case wherein the top court may exercise its power under Article 142 of the Constitution of India to direct the respondents to implement the same methodology, which is being adopted for Class X to declare the result and cancel the examination for Class XII.

Last year, amid the pandemic the top court had asked boards to determine and declare Class XII exam results on the basis of earlier assessment of students.