Delhi High Court slammed the CBSE for its 'anti-student attitude'

A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan made the remarks at the hearing a plea moved by the Board challenging a single judge order, which claimed that the CBSE's reassessment scheme for students whose board exams had been cancelled due to COVID-19 would apply to improvement candidates also.

"We don't like this anti-student attitude of the CBSE. You are dragging students to the Supreme Court. Should they be studying or going to court? We should start imposing expenses on the CBSE. Students are being treated like enemies," the bench added. The bench also said that if the scheme applies to all improvement students, "what is the harm in it?"

On August 14 the single-judge was held which said that the scheme authorized by the Supreme Court for assessing students due to cancellation of the CBSE exams in light of COVID-19 will also extend to students, who have appeared for improvement examinations as they are equivalent victims of the epidemic.

"There is no earth-shaking emergency for you to come to the court now all guns blazing," adding that the bench said, the CBSE should have gone to the apex court for clarification, instead of dragging students to court.

The single judge had stated that like regular students, those who appeared for improvement exams would also have the right to avail the scores as per the assessment scheme or to appear for an optional examination whenever the CBSE held.

The order of August 14 had come on a plea by a student who appeared in the CBSE class 12 exams held in February-March last year and secured 95.25 percent.

Thereafter, to boost his ranking, he dropped one year and decided to reappear in Accountancy, English Core, Economics, and Business Studies this year.

While the other exams were held as per schedule, the Business Studies exam, scheduled for March 24, was cancelled due to the lockdown announced due to COVID-19.

The student, Sanyam Gupta, asked that his result for the improvement examinations ought to be declared and in respect of the cancelled paper of Business Studies, he should be treated at par with the regular students for whom the assessment scheme was approved by the apex court.

The high court ordered the CBSE to issue a corrected mark sheet to the student. After doing the same Gupta who, thereafter, got admitted in a Delhi University college based on the same, the CBSE has now challenged the single judge's decision.

Taking note of the facts and conditions, the bench said, "The impugned order has been implemented. The child has taken admission. Why should we upset the applecart now?"

When the CBSE counsel said that the improvement applicants were having more chances under the reassessment scheme as compared to regular students, the bench said it should have brought this to the attention of the apex court when the scheme was approved.

The high court, however, released a notice to the student and sought his reply to the CBSE's plea. "We will put you to an exam now," the bench said to the CBSE and listed the matter for hearing on February 5, 2021.