CBSE Byelaws Existing On Date Of Results Declaration Will Apply For Certificate Correction : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has clarified that the byelaws of the Central Board of Secondary Education(CBSE) which exist as on the date of declaration of result will apply to an application seeking changes or corrections in the mark certificates.

The byelaws which exist as on the date of application for correction or changes will be irrelevant for consideration of changes or corrections in the certificates.

A bench comprising Justices AM Khanwilkar, BR Gavai and Krishna Murari settled this position while deciding a batch of petitions challenging the CBSE byelaws on certificate corrections.

The Supreme Court noted that there was a conflict of opinion amongst the High Courts as regards the point of time which would determine the applicability of Byelaws. The CBSE has amended the byelaws from time-to-time to modify the period of limitation within which the application should be made.

The Delhi High Court took the view that the byelaws which are in force on the date of application will be relevant(Kalpana Thakur vs CBSE, 2015 SCC OnLine Del 12156)

The Kerala High Court took a different view of the matter and observed that the Byelaws existing on the date of passing out would apply(Vyshnav vs CBSE, 2017 SCC OnLine Ker 39806)

The Supreme Court observed :

"Considered in the context of the Byelaws, the controversy is actually simple in nature. The Byelaws consistently provide that the period of limitation is to be calculated from the date of declaration of the result and issue of certificate. It means that the period of limitation begins to run against the student after declaration of result and publication of certificates as the student isput to notice of the contents of the document, upon its issue. The student can now be said to be in a position to verify the correctness of the certificate(s). The irresistible outcome of this legal position is that the Byelaws existing on the date of such declaration/publication of result and issue of certificate would be relevant for the purpose of effecting changes in the certificates.
The express language of the Byelaws would be defeated if we say that the law existing on the date of application for recording change would be relevant. That would negate the very importance of having a period of limitation for correction of the certificates"(Paragraph 159).

"If the limitation of applicability of Byelaws was to be reckoned from the date of application for correction/change and not the date of result of the examination conducted by CBSE, we would be leaving things to a state of uncertainty. For, a student who could possibly have surpassed the limitation period under unamended Byelaws would regain the right to change the certificates if the Byelaws existing on the date of application permit so and provide for a longer period. Similarly, a student who had ten years for carrying out changes under the unamended Byelaws would lose her right if Byelaws are amended within the ten ­year period so as to provide for a much shorter, say two years, limitation period.Certainty, consistency and predictability are the hallmarks of any legal relationship and it is in the interest of public policy that legal interpretation preserves and protects these hallmark"(Paragraph 160).

The Court has also suggested that the CBSE should have a "different approach" with regard to the limitation period, having regard to the fact that the inadvertent mistakes made by students when they are young might be noticed only later, when they require the CBSE certificates for other purposes.

"The limitation as regards maximum period upto which changes can be permitted also requires a different approach. Upon receiving the certificates, the student would naturally be put to notice of the particulars of certificates. Due to young age and inadvertence including being casual and indolent, a student may fail to identify the errors or to understand the probable impact of those errors and accordingly, may not apply for rectification immediately. It is also possible that a student may not have to use the certificates immediately after passing out and by the time she uses them, the limitation period for correction may elapse. Therefore, a realistic time for permitting corrections is very important. Indeed, it can be commensurate with the statutory or mandatory period upto which CBSE is obliged to preserve its old record"(Paragraph 125).

CBSE Certificates - 'Students May Fail To Notice Errors Due To Young Age & Inadvertence' : Supreme Court Calls For 'Different Approach' In Time-Limit For Changes/Corrections