School Can't Seek Correction Of Student's Internal Assessment Marks After Uploading On CBSE Website: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has observed that once a school uploads the internal assessment marks of a student on the website of Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), it cannot seek any correction even if there was an error while uploading the marks.

Justice C Hari Shankar said that utter chaos would result if schools are permitted to commit errors while uploading students' marks on CBSE's website and thereafter, call upon the Board to correct the marks awarded at their end.

“The CBSE would also not be in a position to blindly accept such requests, and would, if this practice were to be allowed, have to conduct independent verifications in each such case to ascertain the actual marks which the candidate had been awarded,” the court said.

Justice Shankar made the observations while dismissing a plea moved by a father seeking direction on the CBSE to correct her daughter's internal assessment marks in Social Studies subject for Class X in the academic year 2019-2020 from 18 to 20 marks.

In July 2020, the school addressed a communication to the CBSE stating that it had erroneously uploaded the internal assessment marks of seven students, including the petitioner's daughter, as 18 out of 20 instead of 20 out of 20. It had then requested CBSE to carry out the necessary corrections at its end.

However, CBSE said that it was not possible to accede to the request to change the internal assessment marks of the seven candidates, in view of the circulars issued by it which stated that while uploading marks, schools will ensure that correct marks are uploaded as no correction in the marks will be allowed once marks are uploaded.

While rejecting the plea, Justice Shankar said that the proscription of revising the marks provided in the CBSE Circulars is “eminently in public interest.”

“This one of those unfortunate cases in which the Court regrets that it has to rule from the head and not from the heart,” the court said.

It added that as the Circulars issued by CBSE were not under challenge and the Board's decision was in sync with the them, no sustainable grievance existed in the plea.

“Though, therefore, this Court once again empathises with Miloni, it regrets its inability to come to her aid. The writ petition is dismissed with no order as to costs,” the court said.

Counsel for Petitioners: Mr. N.K. Sahoo, Advocate

Counsel for Respondents: Mr. Ashok Kumar, Advocate

Title: NILKANTH DAS AND ORS. v. CBSE AND ORS.

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Del) 26

Click Here To Read Order