Karnataka High Court Rejects CBSE's Appeal Against Interim Order Permitting 18 State Board Students To Sit In CBSE 10th Exams

A single judge bench had vide its interim order dated January 27, directed the Board to permit 18 students to take 10th Standard examination for the academic year 2024-25, to be held from 15.02.2025, subject to the final outcome of the writ petition without claiming any equity.

A division bench of Chief Justice N V Anjaria and Justice M I Arun said “Evidently the order passed is an interim arrangement and the permission granted to 18 students to take 10th standard is subject to final outcome of the petition. The rights of any of the parties are not finally crystalised. In the circumstances the court is not invoking its appellate jurisdiction and there is no trapping of finality in the order. Only on this ground the appeal is dismissed.”

Further it said “While dismissing the appeal on the above ground, the court would not but notice the background facts where prima facie transpires that petitioner school, has made the application to CBSE from the academic years 2025-26 only, but it has ventured to admit the students, who would be enjoying the aforesaid interim order which permit them to appear in the exams of the 10th standard in current academic years. It is observed that in the eventuality that the petitioner school does not succeed in getting final relief in the petition and petition fails, students have a right to sue the school in appropriate manner and seek appropriate relief, in accordance with law.”

The Board in appeal had contended that students have studied up to 9th standard in the State syllabus, our affiliation rules makes it very clear that they cannot appear for 10th exams. Only students of the school from the year 2026 can appear for CBSE 10th standard exams as affiliation will come in force from the next year.

Advocate Madhukar Deshpande appearing for board referred to the affiliation certificate issued to the school by the board and submitted that by virtue of the interim order we have to allow the students to appear even though they have not studied or recognised as students of our board.

As per our (Board) byelaws, the students can switch over only upto 9th standard and then appear for 10th standard in Board exams. The students have studied in the State Board till 9th standard and the affiliation specifies that year and batch of the students of class 10th which will appear for board exams is from April 1, 2026.

However, the counsel for school submitted that our school got affiliation under the switch over category and no fresh student has been admitted to the school. These 18 students of the school opted for CBSE syllabus and they have already undergone the preparatory exams.

Further, it was said even if these students now want to appear for state board exams, they will not be allowed to do so. Moreover, CBSE rules also provide direct admission to 10th standard.

Case Title: Central Board Of Secondary Education & Others AND Janani Public School.

Case No: WA 222/2025.

Citation No: 2025 LiveLaw (Kar) 59