HC knocks off all CBSE conditions for re-evaluation

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday directed the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to re-evaluate Class 12 answer-sheets of all students who approach it. A division bench of acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C. Hari Shankar lifted all conditions imposed by the CBSE on students looking to get their answer-sheets re-evaluated and asked the board not to limit the number of subjects available for scrutiny to only 12 major subjects. The bench said its order should be made applicable to all students and not just those who had approached the court. "It cannot be denied that grave and irreparable loss and damage would enure to the petitioners so far as their admissions to colleges and universities are concerned. Balance of convenience is also in favour of the petitioners," the court observed. On June 28, the board had published a circular imposing conditions on re-evaluation process, limiting the facility to scrutiny of marks to just 12 subjects -- English Core, English Elective (CBSE), English Elective (NCERT), Hindi Core, Hindi Elective, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Business Studies, Economics and Accountancy. The CBSE had also restricted the right of a student to apply for scrutiny to only 10 questions. The court order came after four students challenged the board's June 28 notice. The petitioner students had moved the court seeking re-evaluation in subjects which were not among the 12 subject mentioned in the notice. On June 23, the board had assured the high court that it would entertain all applications of students who felt that their answer sheets were not correctly evaluated. However, the CBSE uploaded the June 28 notice with restrictions. The court also issued notices to the Centre, CBSE and the Delhi University on the plea and sought their replies within 10 days. The matter has now been fixed for further hearing on July 26.