New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has said that the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) cannot stop a student from appearing in the board examination after issuing the admit card.
The bench of Justice C Harishankar made this comment while issuing an order to allow a class 10 student to appear in the examination. CBSE had disallowed the student from sitting for the exam as the domicile certificate was not submitted on time.
The court has issued a notice to CBSE and directed it to file its reply within two weeks. The next hearing has been scheduled on April 1.
The court said that it was "unthinkable", "unacceptable" and "inhumane" to prohibit a student from entering the examination hall after issuing the admit card. The court said that the student will appear in all future examinations without any hindrance. It also stated that instead of making the student stand outside the examination hall, she should be given extra time so as to compensate for the time she wasted by standing outside the hall.
The high court also clarified that if any student, other than the petitioner, had been stopped from appearing in the examination due to late submission of the domicile certificate, then he/she too should be given extra time
The petition was moved by the student' mother. The student had filled the class 10 board exam form from private.
CBSE issued a notice on September 5, 2023 stating that private students will have to upload their domicile certificates while filling the examination form. The court said that CBSE had made the provision of domicile for the first time, about which many students were not aware. It said that the petitioner had uploaded the form on October 3 and did not have a domicile certificate.
The petitioner had applied for the domicile certificate in December 2023, after which she got the certificate on January 24. As the certificate could not be uploaded on the CBSE website, she went to the CBSE office and physically submitted it on January 31. She was issued an admit card on February 15.
The petitioner went to appear for her first examination on February 21 with the admit card. However, when she went to appear for her second exam on February 26, she was stopped outside the examination hall and not allowed to sit for the paper. After which, she approached Delhi High Court. The court has clarified that the girl is entitled to sit for the paper with extra time.
