"Nobody Expected People Would Have To Return To Their Hometowns": Bombay HC Condones Student's Delay In Obtaining Marksheet Amid Covid-19

A division bench of Justice GS Patel and Justice Neela Gokhale, while directing the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE) to release his improved marksheet observed –

“This is most unfortunate. Some regard must be had to the situation that prevailed in this country from March 2020 onwards for a long time. Nobody expected that entire cities would be literally shut down or that persons would have to return great distances to their villages and hometowns. Surely these are matters that are sufficiently extraordinary and warrant the exercise of some appropriate discretion.”

The petitioner, Sharma Aryan Rajesh, a 22-year-old engineering student, approached the court seeking direction to the MSBSHSE, to release his original Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) Improvement Examination Result Mark Sheet for the exam conducted in February/March 2020.

The petitioner secured 61.54 percent in his HSC exams in February 2019, rendering him ineligible for admission to engineering courses. Thus, he appeared for the HSC Improvement Examination in February/March 2020 and secured 76.10 percent.

The petitioner was required to surrender his original mark sheet from the first attempt in 2019 to receive the improved mark sheet. However, he returned to District Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh with his family during the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. He couldn’t travel during the lockdown nor attempt to get the mark sheet online due to poor internet connectivity.

The petitioner is currently a student at the Vellore Institute of Technology, Bhopal and has to apply for placement and campus selection. His mother visited the office of the MSBSHSE, Pune to get his marksheet. The petitioner claimed that her request was denied since the old mark sheet had not been returned in time, and the improvement mark sheet could not now be given to him, as per the MSBSHSE.

The court acknowledged concerns of MSBSHSE regarding setting a precedent for similar cases. However, the court emphasized that exceptional circumstances required a flexible approach. The judgment noted that the lockdown was an unforeseen and extraordinary event that disrupted the petitioner's ability to fulfil the necessary procedural requirements.

The court highlighted that the petitioner's educational aspirations and future career prospects were at stake. The court exercised its discretionary power to address the situation and accepted the petitioner’s prayers. It directed the MSBSHSE to accept the surrender of the old mark sheet.

The court ordered MSBSHSE to release the necessary improved mark sheet by Friday, August 11, 2023.

Case no. – Writ Petition (L) No. 16196 of 2023

Case Title – Sharma Aryan Rajesh v. State of Maharashtra & Ors