PARMINDER KAUR (MINOR) Vs. PUNJAB SCHOOL EDUCATION BOARD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This order will dispose of seven writ petitions No. 3245, 3323, 3329, 3330, 3357, 3409 and 3410 of 2000 in which common questions of taw and fact arise. Since arguments were addressed in Civil Writ Petition No. 3323 of 2000, the facts are being taken from this case. Counsel for the parties are agreed that the decision in this case will govern the other cases as well.

(2.) Petitioners appeared in the Secondary School Examination conducted by the National Open School (for short the School), Government of India, New Delhi in May, 1999. They did not pass in that examination. Copies of the provisional marks statements issued by the School have been appended as annexures to the writ petition. Annexure P -1 is the provisional marks statement pertaining to petitioner No. 1. This document contains the name of this petitioner, her date of birth and also her roll number. It is signed by the Controller of Examinations and bears 1.8.1999 as the date. A perusal of this document shows that petitioner No . 1 appeared in 6 subjects and she failed in all the subjects. Similar are the provisional marks statements of the other petitioners. Having failed in this examination the petitioners applied to the Punjab School Education Board (for short the Board) for appearing as private candidates in the matriculation examination. The applications were submitted much before the last date which was 30.9.1999. Along with their applications the petitioners had appended certified copies of their provisional marks statements issued to them by the School. They were issued the roll numbers sometime in February, 2000. The matriculation examination commenced on 13.3.2000. They appeared in the first two papers on 13.3.2000 and 15 -3.2000. When they went to appear in the paper of Mathematics on 18.3.2000 they were prevented from taking the examination on the ground that their candidature had been cancelled. It was then that they filed the present petition under Article 226 of the Constitution for a mandamus directing the respondents to permit them to take the examination and declare their result. In pursuance to the interim order passed by this court, the petitioners appeared in the remaining papers of this examination though some of them missed a paper.

(3.) In response to the notice of motion issued by this Court, the Board has filed its reply. One of the preliminary objections taken was that the School had not been impleaded as a respondent. The petitioners sought permission of this court and amended the writ petition by impleading the School as respondent No. 3. It is pleaded that the Board has framed the Punjab School Education Board (Matriculation Examination) Regulations, 1988 (hereinafter called the Regulations) which govern the said examination and that the petitioners are not eligible to appear in the examination in view of Regulation 6(ii). It is averred that the certificates produced by the petitioners do not show their result as the result column has been scored out. Another objection taken by the Board is that the provisional marks statements produced by the petitioners have not been countersigned by the prescribed authority and, therefore, they were ineligible to take the examination. The School has also filed its reply. It is admitted that the petitioners appeared in the Senior Secondary School Examination held by the School in May, 1999 in which they failed. The School has also admitted that in view of Regulation 6 of the Regulations, the petitioners are eligible to sit in the matriculation examination conducted by the Board as private candidates.