GOUTAM LAHIRI Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This writ petition has a long chequered history. The petitioner's son is a student of W.W.A. Cossipore English School (hereinafter referred to as the said school). The said School is affiliated to the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination (hereinafter referred to as the Council). Despite the petitioner's son secured pass mark for promotion to the next higher class, as per the Regulations framed by the Council, he was not promoted to Class X by the school authority as he could not secure the pass mark as per the norms fixed by the school authority. The petitioner, thus, felt aggrieved as his son was not granted promotion from Class IX to Class X. Accordingly, he filed a writ petition being W.P. No. 9238(W) of 2010 before this Hon'ble Court earlier. In the said writ petition the petitioner not only prayed for issuance of direction upon the school authority for promoting his son to Class X but he also prayed for issuance of direction upon the Council to allow his son to appear at the School Final Examination, scheduled to be held in 2011 by waiving the minimum attendance criteria. The relief which the petitioner claimed in the said writ petition, was not granted by a Learned Single Judge of this Hon'ble Court. The writ petition was ultimately disposed of with a direction upon the school authority to allow the petitioner's son to take the Annual Examination for promotion from Class IX to Class X, whenever it is so conducted, waiving the attendance criteria with a rider that if the petitioner's son succeeds to clear such examination, he will be promoted to Class X for pursuing further study. It was further observed in the said order that it will be open to the Council to issue necessary direction to the school to abide by the pass criteria fixed by it for regulating promotion of students from Class IX to Class X, if it so thinks fit.

(2.) The petitioner was not satisfied with the said order. He preferred an appeal challenging the propriety of the said order before the Appeal Court. On an application filed in the said Appeal being A.S.T. 15 of 2011, an interim order was passed by the Hon'ble Appeal Court by permitting the petitioner's son to sit for the selection Mock Test for Class X which was scheduled to be held on 8 th January, 2011.

(3.) Despite such interim order was passed, the petitioner's son was not permitted to sit in the Test examination. Be that, as it may, the Appeal Court after taking into account the agony of the poor child, who on the eve of his examination, was made to suffer untold trauma and distraught pain of the indefinite future as to whether he would be allowed to sit for examination or not, ultimately directed the Council to allow the petitioner's son to sit for his I.C.S.E. Examination for the year of 2011 by treating him as a special case without setting it as precedent in any manner. The Council was, thus, directed to issue Admit Card and other required formalities so as to enable the petitioner's son to sit for the examination which was scheduled to begin from 28 th February, 2011 onwards. In order to facilitate the process, the school authority was also directed to comply with all necessary formalities required for the purpose of the petitioner's son to sit for the examination as was required to be done by the school authority. The school authority was also directed to comply with the entire set of formalities by 7 th February, 2011 without fail and send the same forthwith to the Council. Both the appeal and the interim application were, thus, disposed of with the above direction.