ANUJA MISHRA Vs. KULPATI RAVISHANKAR UNIVERSITY RAIPUR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this petition under Arts.226 and 227 of the Constitution the petitioner is seeking a writ of mandamus directing the University to declare the petitioner successful at the Master's degree examination in English in First Division instead of Second Division given to her.

(2.) The petitioner did her M.A. course in English in the final examination held in April, 1984. In her paper, the dissertation, the internal examiner awarded her 45 marks while the external examiner awarded 29 marks to her. Since there was difference in the valuation by more than 20%, the matter was referred to a third examiner who gave her 33% marks. According to the petitioner, the Ordinance requires that the average of the two out of three marks has to be taken into account which is to the best advantage of the candidate. So the petitioner should have been awarded 78 marks instead of 62 marks given to her. If she got 78 marks in that paper she would have obtained more than 60 per cent marks in the aggregate in all papers and should have been declared as passed in the examination in First Division instead of Second Division given to her. In the return filed by the University, the respondent contended that as per para 18 of Statute No. 29 if there was a difference of marks awarded by Internal and External examiners exceeding 20 per cent, the matter was referred to a third examiner, who gave the petitioner 33 marks. Under that provision, the aggregate of the two marks nearest to each other will be taken as a correct valuation and if the lowest and the upper limit between the three is the same then the best advantage will be given to the candidate, i.e., if the candidate secured marks 20, 25 and 30, then the aggregate of 25 and 30 and not 20 and 25 has to be taken because that is to the best advantage of the candidate. Therefore, the petitioner has been rightly awarded 62 marks in the dissertation pager.

(3.) Shri G.P. Singh in his book Principles of Statutory Interpretation at Page 104 has the following comments to make :