(1.) Heard Sri Rajendra Pd. Singh Senior Advocate for the petitioner and Sri Ashok Kumar Singh learned Standing Counsel III for the State.
(2.) Petitioner is the Secretary and teacher of Prabhat Education Centre Middle School Gurki Mandi Gulzarbagh, Patna. He has filed this writ application for direction to the respondent authorities to permit the Class VIII students of the aforesaid middle school to appear in Class VIII Board examination conducted by the State Government. For similar relief he had filed CWJC No. 12946/02 which was disposed of under orders dated 11-12-2002 as contained in Annexure 11 whereunder this Court directed the Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Secondary, Primary and Adult Education of the Department of the State Government to consider the request of the petitioner for the said purpose. Learned Secretary, Secondary, Primary and Adult Education Department has thereafter considered the request of the petitioner and has rejected the same under order dated 20-5-2003 annexure 1. Petitioner has also prayed for quashing of the aforesaid order dated 20-5-2003 Annexure 1. Before adverting to the aforesaid order dated 20-5-2003 I would mention a few facts. Petitioner established the aforesaid school on 6-11 -1968 to cater to the primary educational needs of the adjoining area in which the said school was established. Under order contained in memo No. 1066 dated 31-12-70 Sub-Divisional Education Officer, Patna Sadar recognized the said school as Middle School, from class I to class VII with retrospective effect from 1-1-1970. Under office order bearing memo No. 856 dated 14- 4-89 Annexure 3 Headmistress of the said school was permitted to establish Class VIII in the school. School authorities having established class VIII in the said school have been admitting students in class VIII since 1990 and those students after completing class VIII studies are granted transfer certificate on which basis they are admitted for further studies in class IX in Nationalised or government recognized schools. Director Secondary and Primary Education in order to achieve the object of universalization of Primary education issued instruction contained in memo No. 353 dated 24-11-2000 annexure 4 drawing an action plan to achieve universalization of Primary Education and directed all the District Education Officers/District Superintendent of Education, Sub-divisional Education Officer to compulsorily conduct district level examination of class VIII students of the Government school as also school recognized by the government from December, 2000. Perusal of those instructions would indicate that class VIII students of the private schools were never prohibited from appearing in the class VIII Board examination conducted in the district. Under memo No. 2015 dated 27-11-01 Annexure 9 Commissioner-cum-Secretary of the secondary, primary and Adult Education department of the State Government informed all the District Education Officer and District Superintendent of Education that the object behind holding class VIII Board Examination is to achieve meaningful universalization of education which can be achieved by ensuring maximum participation of the students in the said examination and accordingly directed them to ensure maximum participation of the students in Class VIII board examination. Petitioner institution also desired that its class VIII students should be permitted to appear in the aforesaid examination. In this connection various correspondences were exchanged between the school authorities and the authority of the Primary Education Directorate as also district superintendent of Education, Patna and Sub-divisional Education Officers, Patna. Reference whereof has been given in paragraphs 10 to 13 of the writ application. Perusal of those documents as referred to in aforesaid paragraphs as also appended to the writ application would indicate that the program of the examination was published under letter No.1450 dated 26-8-2002 (Annexure 5), under letter No. 3117 dated 14-9-2002 (Annexure 6) District Superintendent of Education, Patna having forwarded the office copy of memo No. 856 dated 14-4-89 annexure 3 which was preserved in his office requested the District Education Officer, Patna to undertake its (memo No. 856 dated 14-4-89) verification and thereafter further requested him to return the same. Under letter No. 37 dated 25-9-2002 (Annexure 7) the headmistress of the school informed the District Superintendent of Education, Patna that there are 120 students admitted in Class V11I and they shall appear in the class VIII Board examination scheduled to begin on 2-12-2002. Headmistress of the school under letter No. 38 dated 18-10-2002 Annexure 8 requested the Director, Primary education that as verification report in regard to memo No. 856 dated 14-4-89 was still awaited class VIII students of the school may be permitted to appear in class VIII Board examination scheduled to begin with effect from 2-12-2002 in the light of the subsequent instructions of the Commissioner & Secretary of the Secondary, Primary and Adult Education Department bearing memo No. 2015 dated 27-11-2001 Annexure 9 whereunder it was clarified that the object behind holding class VIII Board examination is to secure maximum participation of the class VIII students in the said examination. As the students of the school in question were not permitted to appear in class VIII Board examination in spite of repeated request by the school authorities, petitioner being its Secretary filed CWJC No. 12946/ 2002 before this Court praying inter alia that its students be permitted to appear in class VIII Board examination scheduled to begin on 2-12-2002 as per programme dated 26- 8-02 (Annexure 5). During the hearing of the writ petition State authorities filed counter affidavit stating inter alia that the school in question was established for class I to VII after permission under office order bearing No. 1068 dated 13-12-80 (Annexure 2). Permission to open class VIII in the school under memo No. 856 dated 14-4-89 (Annexure 3) was never granted and instruction/ order as contained in memo No. 856 dated 14-4-89 (Annexure 3) is a forged document and in that view of the matter submitted the authorities that the students of class VIII of the school in question cannot be allowed to appear in the Board examination scheduled to begin on 2-12-2002.
(3.) This Court having appreciated the stand of the State respondents that they disputed the genuineness of the order contained in memo No. 856, dated 14-4-89 (Annexure 3) directed the Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Secondary, Primaiy and Adult Education department, respondent No. 2 to look into the matter and if necessary to get the signature of the author over the aforesaid memo verified by a handwriting expert and thereafter to consider and scrutinize all other records and documents maintained in the Department/Directorate regarding submission of the petitioner that the students of the said school had appeared in Class VIII examination held from 1989 till 2001 and come to a final conclusion and if it is found that memo No. 856, dated 14-4-89 was genuine then to permit the students of the institution to appear in the examination as also to hold special examination, if necessary. Relevant portion of the order passed by this Court is quoted hereinbelow :