Ghanshyam Meena vs Board of Secondary Education and Another

Ajay Rastogi, J.—It is one of the peculiar case in itself which comes to the Court of law with the grievance that despite the petitioner having qualified Secondary School Examination 2004, Senior Secondary Examination 2006, Under Graduate degree in 2009 and Post-Graduate Examination and when he submitted application for obtaining certificate of Secondary School Examination 2004 to be issued by the Board of Secondary Education, the Board came out with a case that it is not possible to issue certificate as claimed by the petitioner since his Secondary School Examination 2004 was cancelled as evident from the tabulation register pursuant to direction of the Secretary dt. 18.09.2004 vide order dt. 23.09.2004. The petitioner qualified Secondary School Examination 2004, Senior Secondary Examination, 2006 and graduation in the year 200 and also completed Post-Graduation from the University of Rajasthan. Mark-sheet of Secondary School Examination 2004 was initially issued on 25.06.2004 and duplicate mark-sheet was issued on 22.08.2006; mark-sheet of Senior Secondary Examination 2006 was issued on 20.05.2006 by the Board of Secondary Education and degree of under Graduation was issued in the year 2009 by the University of Rajasthan. It appears that the certificate of Secondary School Examination 2004, which in the ordinary course was supposed to be issued by the Board in continuance of the mark-sheet, was not issued to the petitioner and that was required as he was preparing himself for competitive examination and applied for some employment. At this stage, he approached to the concerned authorities for issuance of certificate Secondary School Examination in the year 2010. One of the officers sitting in room No. 5 of the Board''s office informed him that the result of Secondary School Examination 2004 was cancelled, certificate cannot be issued but no document was made available to him. He submitted representation for obtaining certificate and also served legal notice of demand for justice but the respondent failed to respond. He approached this Court by filing the instant petition. After notice of the writ petition came to be served, reply has been filed by the respondent-Board in which it is averred that result of the petitioner was cancelled in compliance of the direction dt. 18.09.2004 of the Secretary, Board of Secondary Education vide order dt. 23.09.2004 as evident from the tabulation register extract of which has been placed on record along with reply (Annex.-R/1) and as per their regulation/standing order that after expiry of five years of declaration of the result of examination, all applications, answer sheets and other misc. papers pertaining to the said examination are weeded out in compliance of the order dt. 07.04.1993 and now after gap of more than six years, the petitioner moved representation dt. 24.9.2010 and filed the instant writ petition. There is no other record available except their tabulation register to show that Secondary School Examination 2004 of the petitioner was cancelled in compliance of the direction of Secretary of the Board dt. 18.09.2004 vide order dt. 23.09.2004.

Counsel for the respondent-Board submits that petitioner was well aware of the fact that record pertains to the said examination 2004 has been weeded out in the year 2009 and after gap of more than six years he started correspondence and demanding copy of the certificate in the year 2010, but in the light of corresponding entry available in the tabulation register regarding cancellation of Secondary School Examination 2004 because of the unfair means vide order dt. 23.09.2004 certificate of Secondary School Examination 2004 cannot be issued to him.

The main thrust of the counsel for petitioner is that apart from the qualification of Secondary School, Senior Secondary, under Graduation Degree and Post-Graduation Degree; he was preparing himself for competitive examination and struggling for employment where the certificate of Secondary School Examination is being invariably demanded by the authorities and only at that stage he approached the officer of the Board to obtain the certificate. Counsel for the petitioner submits that it is for the first me it came to his notice that the result of Secondary School Examination 2004 was cancelled on 23.09.2004 pursuant to direction of Secretary, Board of Secondary Education dt. 18.09.2004 when he approached to the officer of the Board seeking certificate in the year 2010. At this stage, no document was supplied to him and that compelled him to approach this Court. Counsel further submits that no opportunity of hearing at any stage was afforded to the petitioner and he was taken by surprise regarding cancellation of Secondary School Examination 2004 and the Board is unable to show its decision, if an being taken regarding cancellation apart from the tabulation register extract of which is placed on record Annex.-R/1 and in such circumstances, once the petitioner had qualified the degree of under Graduate and Post- Graduation from the University of Rajasthan it will not be in the interest of justice to bring him to square one merely on the premise that the tabulation register maintained by the Board disclose that the Secondary School Examination 2004 was cancelled vide order dt. 23.09.2004, more so, when there is no supporting evidence available on record which can justify their action regarding cancellation.

Counsel further submits that there may be some justification that the respondent-Board had weeded out the record after five years but that cannot have any adverse effect on the rights of the petitioner on qualifying the Secondary, Senior Secondary and other higher examinations.

I have heard counsel for the parties and with assistance perused the material available on record.

It is an admitted case that apart from the Secondary School Examination 2004 he qualified Senior Secondary Examination 2006, degree examination 2009 and also completed his Post Graduation from the University of Rajasthan. Thereafter, mark-sheets of qualifying examinations are on record as annex.-1, 2 & 3 respectively. There is no material on record other than the tabulation register extract of which is on record and depicts that the result of the petitioner was cancelled in compliance of the direction of the Secretary of the Board dt. 18.09.2004 vide order dt. 23.09.2004, but no supporting material is on record which could justify the orders of cancellation referred to in the tabulation register if ever served upon the petitioner. It is the specific case of the petitioner that no opportunity was afforded before impugned action being taken against him or even the decision regarding cancellation as alleged by the respondent was ever served upon the petitioner and it was their unilateral decision of which the petitioner was never made aware of. In absence thereof merely on the entry made in the tabulation register of the Secondary School Examination 2004 being cancelled under the direction of Secretary, Board of Secondary Education dt. 18.09.2004, that cannot be taken at its face value unless there is supporting cogent material on record to meet out the objection raised that the proceedings were initiated in utter disregard of the principles of natural justice such impugned decision regarding cancellation of examination is not legally sustainable and at the same time this fact cannot be ruled out that the petitioner during the intervening period had qualified not only Secondary Examination but also higher education qualifications of Senior Secondary, under Graduation and Post-Graduation from the University of Rajasthan and certain rights have been crystallized and after undertaking the full academic course, it may not be appropriate to revert the clock back and bring the petitioner to square one depriving of the qualification which be acquired during the intervening period, more so, when it is not the case of the respondent that order dt. 23.09.2004 regarding cancellation of Secondary School Examination 2004 was served or he has concealed such information while appearing in higher examinations conducted by the Board or University of Rajasthan.

In these facts and circumstances, there appears no reasons to believe that when there was impugned decision regarding cancellation of Examination 2004 how the duplicate mark-sheet was issued to him on 22.8.2006 and was permitted to appear in Senior Secondary Examination 2006 and the mark-sheet was issued by the Board on 20.5.2006.

In the peculiar facts and circumstances of the instant case, this Court is of the view that on account of these change in circumstances by passage of time the petitioner cannot now be deprived of the certificate of Secondary School Examination 2004 which is required by him for all practical purposes. Consequently, the writ petition succeeds and is allowed. The respondents are directed to issue the certificate of Secondary School Examination 2004 to the petitioner within a period of four weeks from the date of receipt of certified copy of this order. No costs.