KIRAN SRIVASTAVA Vs. SECRETARY/BOARD OF HIGH SCHOOL AND INTERMEDIATE EDUCATION, U. P. ALLAHABAD AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner appeared at the Intermediate Examination for the year 1979 as a private candidate from the Jitendra Smarak Intermediate College, Narainpur Kothi, district Deoria. In due course, she was given an admit ,card to appear at the said examination with roll number 564049. the admit card issued to the petitioner, however, did not mention the centre from which the petitioner could appear at the examination. She alleges that she made enquiries from the Principal of the college and was told that she can appear from Mahant Triveni Prabat Intermediate College, Bishunpura Bazar, district Deoria. The petitioner appeared at the examination from the aforesaid centre.

(2.) The Board of Education issued a show cause notice on Oct. 28, 1979 requiring the petitioner to show cause why disciplinary action be not taken for changing the centre illegally. According to the authorities the petitioner could validly appear from the Acharya Narendra Deo Intermediate College, Palthu Deva, Deoria and not from Mahant Triveni Parbat Intermediate College, Bishunpura Bazar, Deoria The petitioner submitted a reply which was, however, not found satisfactory and by an order dated May 14, 1980 the petitioners result for the year 1979 was cancelled. This is the order which is challenged in the present writ petition.

(3.) The petitioner's case is that the admit card issued to her did not mention the name of the centre from which she could appear. We saw the admit card. The relevant column was blank. We called upon the standing counsel to explain the position. He took time to obtain instructions and ultimately stated that it was due to clerical error of the college that the relevant column remained blank. It was the duty of the college to indicate the centre from which the petitioner was to appear but they did not do so, may be because of some clerical mistake. In the circumstances, the petitioner's allegation that she enquired from the Principal and was told that she could appear from the centre from which she actually appeared, appears to be correct. In the special situation, it cannot be said that the petitioner committed^any fraud or any irregularity in appearing from the centre from which she did. The Board was hence not justified in cancelling the examination as the basic mistake was committed by the authorities themselves.