CBSE Has No Right To Stop Student From Entering Exam Hall After Issuing Admit Card, Expected To Be Vigilant: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court on Monday observed that the Central Board of Secondary Examination (CBSE) is expected to be vigilant regarding the entitlement of the students to appear in the examination.

Justice C Hari Shankar said that the CBSE has no right to stop a student from entering the examination hall, after issuing admit card.

The court made the observations while allowing a Class X student to sit in her Board examination today for English subject.

The urgent petition was moved through the mother as the minor was asked to wait at the waiting desk without being allowed to appear in the examination hall.

“After issuing the admit card, stopping the student from entering the examination hall is unthinkable. The CBSE has no right, whatsoever, ot do so. It is inhuman to first issue an admit card to a student, and when the student appears for the examination, make her stand outside the Examination Hall,” the court said.

The CBSE in September last year issued a notice asking the candidates to upload, along with the application for appearing in the examination, the domicile certificate certifying that they are residents of Delhi.

While uploaded her application form for appearing in Class X Board examination, the girl did not have a domicile certificate. She applied for the domicile certificate in December last year and obtained the same on January 24.

As the certificate could not be uploaded on the website of CBSE, she physically submitted the certificate to the Board on January 13. She was then issued an admit card on the basis of which she undertook her first paper on February 21. However, this morning, she was stopped at the entrance of the Examination Hall and was not permitted to undertake her second paper.

Issuing notice on the plea, the court said that the girl will forthwith be entitled to undertake the examination and will also be given extension of time for completing the paper to compensate the time for which she has had to wait outside the Examination Hall, so that she is provided the same time to complete the paper as all other students.

“It is further made clear that if any other candidate that has been thus held up outside the Examination Hall for want of uploading the domicile certificate ni time, al such students will be entitled to enter the Examination Hall and undertake the examination with extension of time as noted above,” the court said.

It added: “Needless to say, this would be subject to the outcome of the present writ petition. The permission to undertake the examination shall also be extended to the remaining papers which the students have to undertake.”

Counsel for Petitioner: Mr. Sahil Mongia, Mr. Shahil Rao, Mr. Abhishek Yadav, Mr. Rahul Yadav and Ms. Divya Sharma, Advs

Counsel for Respondents: Mr. Atul Kumar, Advocate for R1 & R2

Title: MS. KANISHKA (THROUGH MRS. SANTOSH (MOTHER) v. CENTRAL BOARD OF SECONDARY EDUCATION & ORS

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Del) 216