Delhi High Court: A petition was filed by the petitioner, a girl student seeking to appear in the All India Senior Secondary (Class XII) examination held by CBSE, which was scheduled to start on 22-02-2024 due to challenges regarding the submission of a domicile certificate as per CBSE instructions, which led to a dispute over her eligibility to sit for the examination. C Hari Shankar, J., permitted the petitioner to appear in her Class XII CBSE examination because default in failing to upload the domicile certificate consequent on the e-mail dated 12-01-2024, despite the fact that the petitioner had applied for the domicile certificate even before submitting her application for appearing in the examination and had in fact received the domicile certificate as far back as on 23-09-2023, cannot be a legitimate ground to disentitle her from appearing in the examination.
The petitioner, a female student, sought permission to take the Class XII CBSE examination scheduled for 22-02-2024. The CBSE had issued instructions requiring female students to upload a domicile certificate along with their application forms for appearing as private candidates in the examination. The petitioner applied for the domicile certificate on 20-09-2023, and received it on 23-09-2023, before submitting her application form. However, she failed to upload the domicile certificate in response to an email from CBSE dated 12-01-2024, pointing out the deficiency in her application.
Counsel for CBSE argued that the petitioner’s failure to upload the domicile certificate despite receiving notification constituted a default on her part, which should disqualify her from appearing in the examination. It was stressed that the petitioner had been given ample opportunity to rectify the deficiency but had failed to do so. On the other hand, the petitioner’s counsel argued that the petitioner had applied for the domicile certificate before submitting her application form and had received it well in advance. Therefore, her failure to upload the certificate was due to negligence rather than deliberate disregard for the instructions.
The Court meticulously analyzed the facts and circumstances of the case, distinguished the petitioner’s situation from previous cases where students had failed to apply for domicile certificates altogether or had applied shortly before the examination. In this case, the petitioner had applied for the domicile certificate in a timely manner and had even received it before submitting her application form.
The court observed that while the petitioner had committed an omission by not uploading the domicile certificate in response to the email from CBSE, her failure was not deliberate but stemmed from negligence. It further noted the importance of considering the academic career of the student and the principle of substantial justice in such matters.
The Court remarked that “The fact that the petitioner is in fact a domicile of Delhi cannot be disputed. She applied for her domicile certificate even before submitting her application form for the examination. As such, she cannot be held to be at fault for not having uploaded, along with the application form, the domicile certificate. In these circumstances, it would be unjust and unfair not to allow the petitioner to undertake her Class XII examination just because she defaulted in uploading the domicile certificate in response to the e-mail dated 12-01-2024. The court must be aware that it is a student’s academic career that hangs in the balance.”
The court held that the petitioner should not be disentitled from appearing in the examination solely based on her failure to upload the domicile certificate. It emphasized the petitioner’s timely application for the certificate and her compliance with the CBSE’s instructions to the best of her ability. Thus, the Court directed the counsel to inform the CBSE Regional Officer with evidence of compliance with the deficiencies mentioned in the email so that the petitioner could be permitted to sit for the examination.
[Khushi Pratap Singh v. Central Board of Secondary Education, W.P.(C) 2614 of 2024, decided on 21-02-2024]
Advocates who appeared in this case:
Mr. Sandeep Sharma, Mr. Sahil Mongia, Mr. Shahil Rao, Ms. Kavya Dauk, Mr. Abhishek Yadav, Mr. Quasar Khan and Ms. Divya Sharma, Advocates for petitioner
Mr. Sanjay Khanna, Standing Counsel with Ms. Pragya Bhushan, Mr. Karandeep Singh and Mr. Tarandeep Singh, Advocates for respondent
