UDAYABHANU PANI Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard Mr. Routray, learned senior counsel for the Petitioners and Mr. Parija, learned senior counsel for the opp. party No. 2 -school.

(2.) The Petitioners were the students of Buxi Jagabandhu English Medium School - opp. party No. 2, which is affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (in short, 'the C.S.B.E.'). The Petitioners appeared in the Class-X examination which was conducted by the C.B.S.E. Intending to take admission in Class-XI in the said school, all the Petitioners obtained the prescribed forms upon payment of the requisite amount and submitted the applications within time, i.e., within 23.2.2010. By then, the Class-X result was not declared by the C.B.S.E. The Petitioners were asked to appear in the Entrance Test and all of them appeared in the said test. By the Indian Law Reports, Cuttack Series (2010) time the entrance test was conducted, result of Class-X examination was not published. The results of the entrance test were declared on 7.4.2010 and as the names of the Petitioners appeared in the merit list of selected candidates, intimations were sent to them through their guardians for taking admission over telephone. Accordingly, the Petitioners took admission in Class-XI on different dates. The Petitioners submit that each of them deposited Rs. 20,000/-towards admission fee. On commencement of classes of Class-XI, the Petitioners started attending the said classes from 18.4.2010. While the school was closed for summer vacation, the Class-X result was published by the C.B.S.E. on 28.5.2010. All the Petitioners were declared to have passed with A-1 and B-1 Grade in three papers, i.e., English, Science and Mathematics. The school reopened on 17.6.2010 and when the Petitioners went to attend the class, it is alleged that they were prohibited on the plea that they were not eligible to continue in the class as per the prospectus. No written order relating to cancellation of their admission or reasons for not allowing the Petitioners to continue in Class-XI have been communicated to any of the Petitioners, as stated by them.

(3.) Mr. Routray, learned senior counsel for the Petitioners submits that the opp. party No. 2 -school in its prospectus has laid down a procedure for admission to Class-XI. As revealed therefrom, it has been mentioned that a candidate has to secure minimum 40% marks in each of the entrance subjects to be eligible to take admission into Class-XI and such admission will be regularized after declaration of the result of Class-X by the C.B.S.E./ICSE and a condition has been fixed that a candidate has to secure more than 80% marks in aggregate in the said examination as well as 80% marks in English, Mathematics and General Science. On the assertion that the Petitioners have secured such percentage of marks in the aggregate, it is urged that they can never be said to be ineligible for the admission on the ground that in some individual subjects they have not secured 80% of marks. Several other contentions were raised with regard to grading system.