SITARANI SUTAR Vs. BOARD OF SECONDARY EDUCATION, ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner appeared in the Annual High School Certificate Examination, 1998 conducted by the Board of Secondary Education, Orissa held in the month of April, 1998. As per the results of the said examination, she secured second division with a total of 432 marks. In the said examination, she secured 46 out of 75 marks in Science Paper -I, 38 out of 75 marks in Science Paper -II and 29 out of 75 marks in Social Science Paper -II (Geography). Not satisfied with the said marks in Science Paper -I, Science Paper -II and Social Science Paper -II (Geography) she applied for checking of addition of marks by depositing a sum of Rs. 75/ - with the Board of Secondary Education, Orissa (hereinafter referred to as the Board). But she was informed on 12.10.1998 by a communication of the Board that after such checking of addition of marks of the answer papers of the petitioner in the aforesaid three papers, there was no change in the marks secured by the petitioner. The petitioner then filed representations dated 29.10.1998, 23.11.1998 and 29.12.1998 for revaluation of the answer scripts of the petitioner in the said three papers. But since no action was taken for such revaluation, the petitioner has filed this writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution for a direction to the opp.parties to revalue the answer scripts of the petitioner in the aforesaid papers.

(2.) BY order dated 5.2.1999 this Court issued notice to the opp.parties for admission and final disposal and also directed that the answer papers of the petitioner should be preserved in the meantime. On 4.10.2001, the Court directed the opp.party No. 1 to produce the answer papers of the petitioner which were directed to be preserved by order dated 5.2.1999. Thereafter, the matter was heard on 23.8.2002 and 27.9.2002. On 27.9.2002 the Court directed that the answer scripts of the petitioner as ordered by the Court on 4.10.2001 will be produced before the Court. On 27.11.2002 the matter was finally heard and it was stated before us by the learned counsel for the op.party No.1 that the answer books of the Annual High School Certificate Examination, 1998 were preserved in a store room adjacent to the C.I. Section along with other checking of addition of answer books pertaining to the case files of the legal cell, but they were completely destroyed during the Super Cyclone on 29th and 30th October, 1999 and for this reason, the opp.party No.1 is not in a position to produce the answer scripts of the petitioner.

(3.) MS . C. Kasturi, learned counsel for the opp.party No.1 relying on the counter affidavit filed by the opp.party No.1, on the other hand, submitted that after submission of an application for checking of addition of marks in Science Paper -I, Science Paper -II and Social Science Paper -II (Geography), a Committee of experienced subject teachers thoroughly checked the aforesaid three answer scripts of the petitioner and found that the marks originally awarded to the petitioner in the said three papers remained unchanged. She further submitted that the answer scripts of the petitioner were preserved in a store room adjacent to the C.I. Section along with other checking of addition of answer books pertaining to the case files of the legal cell but the same were destroyed at the time of Super Cycle on 29th and 30th of October, 1999 and for this reason, the opp.party No.1 could not produce the said answer scripts before the Court.