Bombay High Court Allows Student Who Missed HSC Improvement Exam Due To Depression, Internet Gaming Disorder Treatment To Re-Take Exam

The Bombay High Court recently permitted a student to appear for the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) improvement exam in July 2024 despite him being precluded from doing so by the relevant regulations.

A division bench of Justice AS Chandurkar and Justice Rajesh S Patil granted permission to the petitioner who could not take the exam in July last year as he was undergoing treatment for depression and Internet Gaming Disorder “in the interest of justice”.

“The documents on record including the medical reports from the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre Hospital indicate that the petitioner was undergoing treatment for Internet Gaming Disorder at-least till the end of December, 2023…In the peculiar facts of the case, we find that an opportunity deserves to be granted to the petitioner to seek improvement in his marks since he was precluded from doing so earlier for medical reasons”, the court held.

The petitioner claimed that he is a bright student who has scored between 85% and 93% until the 11th Standard. However, in his HSC Examination held in March 2023, he secured only 319 marks out of 600 as he was suffering from depression.

The petitioner underwent medical treatment for depression and anxiety from July 2023 to December 2023 at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre Hospital, where he was also diagnosed with Internet Gaming Disorder.

According to the regulations of the Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, students are permitted to attempt to improve their marks in the immediately ensuing examination, an opportunity available only once. According to the petitioner, due to his ongoing treatment, he could not avail of this opportunity in the July 2023 examination.

The petitioner sought permission from his college in February 2024 to appear for the March 2024 examination, but received no response. Consequently, he approached the High Court seeking relief.

The Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education submitted that according to Clause 92.6 of the relevant regulations governing the improvement exams, the petitioner was precluded from seeking improvement as he did not appear in improvement exams of July 2023 and March 2024.

The court noted that the petitioner was unable to participate in the examinations due to his medical treatment, which was substantiated by the medical reports.

The court ruled that in the interest of justice, the petitioner be allowed to appear for the July 2024 HSC examination, commencing from July 16, 2024. This permission is contingent upon the petitioner making the requisite application and paying any necessary late fees to his school.

The court emphasized that this ruling was made considering the unique facts of the case and the petitioner's health issues. Therefore, the decision should not be treated as a precedent for future cases.

Case no. – Writ Petition No. 9071 of 2024

Case Title – Aradhya Arvind Singh v. State of Maharashtra and Ors.