Court dismisses petition challenging fairness of marking scheme for out-of-syllabus questions in Junior Judicial Assistant Examination
The Delhi High Court has upheld the use of the extrapolation method by the Registrar General, High Court of Delhi, for evaluating the results of the Junior Judicial Assistant/Restorer Departmental Examination-2023. The judgment came in response to a petition filed by Arvind and others seeking the quashing of the examination results due to the inclusion of out-of-syllabus questions.
The petitioners, who are employees of the High Court of Delhi, contended that the inclusion of out-of-syllabus questions in the departmental competitive examination unfairly impacted their scores. They argued that all candidates should be awarded full marks for such questions, citing the Supreme Court judgment in Kanpur University v. Samir Gupta, which dealt with awarding marks for incorrect answer keys.
However, the Delhi High Court, presided by Justices V. Kameswar Rao and Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, dismissed the petition, stating that the extrapolation method used by the respondents was fair and equitable. The court noted that the method redistributed the marks of dropped questions across valid questions, thereby maintaining the integrity of the examination's cut-off threshold. The method was deemed non-arbitrary and ensured that candidates who attempted out-of-syllabus questions were not prejudiced.
The judgment clarified that the extrapolation method effectively increased the weightage of valid questions, providing a proportionate redistribution of marks. Candidates who answered dropped questions correctly were given the benefit of the higher of the scores obtained through extrapolation and actual attempt. The court distinguished the present case from Kanpur University v. Samir Gupta, emphasizing that the Supreme Court's ruling did not mandate awarding 'free marks' for dropped questions in examinations.
The court also highlighted that the petitioners failed to demonstrate how the extrapolation method resulted in detriment or unfairness to the candidates. It concluded that the respondents had acted within their discretion to ensure a fair evaluation process, adhering to principles recommended by the Supreme Court in similar contexts.
In dismissing the petition, the court underscored that the respondents' decision to use extrapolation method, rather than awarding free marks, was justified, equitable, and legally sound.
Bottom line:-
Competitive examinations - Adoption of extrapolation method to assess marks after dropping out-of-syllabus questions in departmental examination upheld as fair and non-arbitrary.
Statutory provision(s): Article 226 of the Constitution of India, Kanpur University v. Samir Gupta (1983) 4 SCC 309
Arvind v. Registrar General High Court of Delhi, (Delhi)(DB) : Law Finder Doc id # 2895413
