BASANTA KUMAR PRADHAN Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Petitioners are some of the students and guardians of students, who appeared in the Annual + 2 Examination conducted by the Council of Higher Secondary Education (CHSE), Orissa in the year 2009. They appeared in the said examination from Harishankar College, where they were prosecuting their studies. When the result of the students of the said college was declared, the result of the Petitioners were withheld and a Tabulation Register which was supplied to the college disclosed that the Petitioners have been awarded with '00' marks in History Paper-I. On 26th June, 2009, a Notification was published by the Council of Higher Secondary Education (for short 'the CHSE') inter-alia notifying that the results of 31 candidates of Harishankar College for history paper in the Annual Higher Secondary Examination, 2009 be published by awarding the marks they have secured and the result of the rest of the candidates of the said examination, which were kept withheld, be published by awarding '00' marks in the concerned history paper. Being aggrieved by such awarding of '00' marks in History Paper-I, the Petitioners have approached this Court for issuance of a writ of mandamus directing the CHSE to declare their results by awarding the marks they have been secured in the said paper, as was awarded by the evaluators. A counter affidavit has been filed by the CHSE inter-alia stating that on 07.03.2009 when the examination in History Paper-I was being conducted in Harishankar College, the Central Flying Squad visited the said Centre and as per their report, the examinees were found to be involved in mass mal-practice and it was also mentioned in the report that the answer scripts of almost all the examinees were identical with each other. This report was placed before the Examination Committee, which decided to withhold the result of the Centre and took the decision to verify the answer scripts of the said college once again by the Subject Experts. After reviewing the answer scripts in respect of History Paper-I of the Petitioners' college, it was observed by the subject experts that some of the students were involved in mass mal-practice, as their answers were identical and there were identical errors. It was also mentioned in the report of the Subject Experts that some of the students were not involved in mass mal-practice. The Examination Committee in its meeting held on 07.07.2009 considering the report of the Subject Experts resolved to publish the result of 31 candidates by awarding the marks they have secured in the said paper and to publish the result of rest of the candidates by awarding '00' marks. It is also stated in the counter affidavit that the Central Flying Squad found that large number of students were involved in mal-practice and they collected a huge number of incriminating materials from inside and outside the examination hall. The students were found talking with each other and also found the answers of almost all the students to be identical.

(2.) The report of the Central Flying Squad has been annexed as Annexure- A/2 to the counter affidavit. The relevant columns of the said report i.e. Column Nos. 13, 15, 16 and 17 are quoted hereunder.

(3.) The resolution of the meeting of the Examination Committee adopted in its meeting on 07.07.2009 under Item No. 2 (b) in respect of Harishankar College is as follows: