Patna High Court Orders Bihar School Examination Board To Pay Rs 2 Lakh Compensation To Student Wrongly Declared 'Fail' In Sanskrit Paper

“In the totality of the facts and circumstances of the case, considering the fact that the petitioner no. 2 being a girl student who had in fact passed her matriculation examination in 1st division but because of the irresponsible act of the Board and its officials, she has suffered in her life and has lost her valuable time and studies which cannot be otherwise compensated, this Court directs the Board to pay a sum of Rs.2 lakhs to the petitioner no. 2 as compensation and Rs. 25,000/- as cost of litigation,” ordered Justice Rajeev Ranjan Prasad.

The girl's father Manoj Kumar had filed the plea in 2019 seeking justice for his daughter, Kanchan Kumar, who faced difficulties due to the Board's actions.

Kanchan Kumar, a student of BLSSP High School, Narkatiya, appeared in the Secondary School Examination, 2017 (Annual) and the result incorrectly showed her as 'Fail' in the compulsory Sanskrit paper, despite securing 1st Division marks in all other subjects.

The petitioner's counsel submitted that Kanchan, who was a minor at that time, was deeply shocked and humiliated by the false declaration of her failure in Sanskrit. Seeking clarity, she filed an application under the Right to Information Act, and after a delay of about one and a half years, she was informed that she had actually obtained '77' marks in the Sanskrit Paper, the court was told.

It was further submitted that this erroneous calculation of marks and the prolonged delay in responding to Kanchan's request severely affected her mental well-being, leading her to abandon further education.

The counsel pointed out that the Board's careless approach, in turn, cost Kanchan two crucial academic years and left her enduring mental agony and humiliation.

The counsel relied on a co-ordinate Bench's judgment in the case of Saurabh Kumar versus the State of Bihar and Others that involved similar facts.

The court took note of the fact that a counter affidavit was filed, but the Board did not provide any explanation for the delay in considering the petitioner's scrutiny request and issuing a fresh mark sheet.

It observed that the fresh mark sheet was issued only on or about 18.12.2018, causing the petitioner to miss at least two academic sessions and depriving her of the opportunity to apply for further studies.

"This Court finds no difficulty in coming to a conclusion that the action of the Board and its officials/ staffs whosoever is there, in recording an incorrect/wrong marks in the result of the petitioner and showing her ‘Fail’ is a totally irresponsible kind of act which has huge adverse consequence upon the career and future prospect of petitioner no. 2," said the bench. 

The court said the student had applied for a scrutiny with requisite fee but that was not attended to in time and "it took about one year eight months to the Board in taking corrective measures.”

“During this period, the petitioner has lost her two academic years and remained suffering from mental agony and humiliation. The act of the Board and its authorities are highly deplorable and are required to be condemned. It also calls upon this Court to award a suitable compensation to the petitioner no. 2 keeping in view the earlier judgment of this Court in similar circumstance,” it added.

Case Title: Manoj Kumar and Another vs. The State of Bihar and Others Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.7185 of 2019

Appearance:

For the Petitioners: Ms. Indira Kumari, Advocate

For the State: Mr. Hitesh Suman, AC to SC-13

For the Board: Mr. Ajay Kumar, Advocate