SNEHASIS MAHAPATRA Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners are aggrieved by the decision of the executive committee of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education dated October 17, 2006 rejecting the first petitioner's application for enrolling him, so that he may take the secondary examination of the board as a regular candidate. In view of urgency, by consent of Counsel for the parties, the writ petition itself has been taken up for final disposal, though today the matter has appeared for hearing of the application for early disposal of the writ petition. The urgency is that the secondary examination that the first petitioner wants to take is scheduled to start on February 20, 2007.

(2.) The first petitioner was born on December 26, 1992. He was admitted to class-IX by the authority of Bonhugly High School, Kolkata - 700 035 in the academic session 2005-06. He passed the annual examination and was promoted to class-X. In the test examination conducted by the institute for sending its regular students for registration by the board for taking its secondary examination he fared extremely well having ranked third among the students who took the test. The institute, having found him eligible in every respect, sent his application to the board for enrolling him as a regular candidate. His application was turned down on the ground that he was born after the cut off date October 31, 1992. His case was placed before the executive committee, which even after noticing that his father is a physically handicapped person and mother a mental patient, turned down the application.

(3.) Counsel for the resoondents submits that the first petitioner was not eligible to be registered as a regular candidate in view of provisions in the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (Examination) Regulations, 2001, regn. 9, which is : "9. Age limit - The Board may enrol a candidate who - (a) has completed the age of 13 (thirteen) years, or (b) shall complete the age of 13 (thirteen) years, within ninety days, from the commencement date of the academic session of class IX in a particular year." His contention is that since the first petitioner did not complete the minimum age for enrolment as a regular candidate, the executive committee of the board did not commit any wrong by turning down the request. He finds little to say about permission given to one Mousumi Chakraborty (referred to in paras. 13 & 14 of the writ petition) to take secondary examination of the board at the age of nine.