BIHAR SCHOOL EXAMINATION BOARD AND OTHERS Vs. ASHA SINHA MEMORIAL UCHCHA MADHYAMIK VIDYALAYA AND ANOTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Challenge in this batch of Letters Patent Appeals, filed by the Bihar School Examination Board and its authorities (hereinafter referred to as 'the BSEB or the appellant'), is to the common judgment dated 24.08.2017 passed by the learned Writ Court in the analogous writ petitions. Since all the writ applications involved a common question of law and the grounds of attack against the impugned action of the BSEB, the learned Writ Court has disposed off all the writ applications with the consent of the parties as recorded in the impugned judgment.

(2.) The writ applications were preferred by the aggrieved Senior Secondary/Secondary Schools or the Trusts managing those schools when the "BSEB" came out with the impugned notification withdrawing or cancelling the affiliation of the schools purportedly in exercise of the powers conferred upon the "BSEB" under Regulation 15 of the Bihar School Examination Board (Senior Secondary) Affiliations Regulations, 2013 (hereinafter referred to as "the Regulation, 2013?).

(3.) The learned Writ Court has taken note of the stand of the BSEB in paragraph "8" and onwards in the impugned judgment. According to the BSEB, the decision taken by the appellant/Board is based on a large number of complaints received against various institutions engaged in imparting education to the students up to Class 10th/12th level. The allegations were that they were engaged and involved in certain illegitimate, illegal and backdoor methods in the matter of grant of their affiliation and further complaints were there alleging use of unfair means and malpractices in the course of examination held in these schools. It was contended before the learned Writ Court that earlier the BSEB administration had granted affiliations in favour of 212 schools/colleges where there were absolutely no infrastructure and other facilities available for teaching. This, according to the appellant, was taken seriously by the present Chairman of the Board who under his own guidance conducted a scrutiny, decided to enquire into the availability of infrastructure and other facilities and on receipt of the enquiry report even steps were taken for spot inspection and physical verification.